It’s the desperation in their voices that is hard to forget. The desperation and anger and the clutching at straws..We are sitting in one of the canteens of Nirma University and the law students in front of me are sharing their thoughts. They are, without any doubt, an angry lot and I doubt they would make effective ambassadors for their university. Their complaints vary in specifics but broadly include the likes of a sub-par faculty, vindictive teachers and an administration that does not listen..To be honest, this is not the first time I am hearing this and I doubt that it will be the last. Raging against the administration, it would appear, has become a mandatory part of the Indian education experience. What is a bit bothersome is their lack of hope, and their lack of confidence to effect change. It is after all their institute, the Institute of Law at Nirma University (ILNU).But more on that later..Dr. Purvi Pokhariyal may not be a suave, smooth-talking PR expert but she certainly seems aware of the strengths and weaknesses of her institute. The lack of older faculty, for instance, is a shortcoming she is acutely aware of and admits to quite early on in the interview. She is also keen to emphasize that despite the private nature of Nirma University, all UGC norms are followed to the letter. However, she also says that because ILNU works as one institute amongst many under the Nirma umbrella, some times certain things take time for approval from the management..Originally teaching at the MS University in Baroda (where she set up the University’s five-year law programme), the Director comes across as a frank individual who can get things done. And to give credit where it is due, she has also executed some interesting hires, such as getting a full time faculty for moot preparations, getting people like Soli Sorabjee, Dushyant Dave, and Prof. Madhava Menon to be associated with the institute..I am sitting in one of the staff rooms and Associate Professor Tarkesh Moila is talking about the various types of data that is collected vis-à-vis the students. It is quite an extensive amount of analysis. Right from the number of hours a student has spent in the library, to the average CLAT scores of admitted students over the past five years, to the library budget allocations – clearly someone has spent a lot of time on this. They also have a geographical breakup of the student body, and from a statistical point of view, it certainly merits a second look. Building a student database, along with statistical analysis, is an exercise that other law schools could implement and benefit from..I am walking on the wide, shaded roads past the multiple canteens (for different institutes of the university) and the football field. When it comes to infrastructure, ILNU does impress. Given that the university’s management school has a good reputation, the law students could have the benefit of management courses. When I visited though, there was no such formal process put in place. The classrooms too are well built, although the presence of video and audio recorders is a bit disconcerting. Evidently, they have been put in place to monitor and assess faculty performance but can also be used to monitor student behavior..Infrastructure-wise, there are only two shortcomings I could notice..One, the size of the library. For a student population touching nine hundred, the library is simply too small, and this is certainly something the administration needs to take into account. Two, the lack of hostel facilities, at least for the undergraduate law programme. Although the university does have a tie-up with privately run hostels, an on-campus hostel would certainly make things better. It is an option that the management could certainly consider..The location of the University can work against you, since public transport to and fro is hard to come by. However, the High Court itself is a twenty-minute auto-ride away and this could work in favour of those looking to work with litigating lawyers. Having said that though, the university lies on a stretch of highway that is seeing massive development, bringing student magnets such as malls and restaurants closer. The annual fees, at a lac and twenty-five thousand rupees, are also lower than what is being charged at the national law schools..One last comment worth making relates to the fact that ILNU offers a 100% scholarship to five students whose total parental income is two and half lac or less. Of course there is a rider – these students have to be within the first 50 in the list of admitted students. In all there are fifteen such scholarships available on a merit and income basis. I think this is commendable and something that other universities, private or otherwise, ought to consider. Recently GNLU announced a similar scheme of scholarships, and one hopes that this becomes a trend..So what do I think of ILNU? Well, if the few students I spoke to accurately reflect the general student sentiment, than there is a definite breakdown of communication between student and administration. And this is something that ought to be taken up on a priority basis. When it comes to physical infrastructure, ILNU rates quite highly although the small library and lack of on-campus hostel are big negatives. When it comes to networking, I certainly see ILNU students participating in, and doing quite well in moot courts and this is certainly raising the institutes’ profile. Thus, if the administration and the student body can sort out their differences, ILNU can be considered as an option.
It’s the desperation in their voices that is hard to forget. The desperation and anger and the clutching at straws..We are sitting in one of the canteens of Nirma University and the law students in front of me are sharing their thoughts. They are, without any doubt, an angry lot and I doubt they would make effective ambassadors for their university. Their complaints vary in specifics but broadly include the likes of a sub-par faculty, vindictive teachers and an administration that does not listen..To be honest, this is not the first time I am hearing this and I doubt that it will be the last. Raging against the administration, it would appear, has become a mandatory part of the Indian education experience. What is a bit bothersome is their lack of hope, and their lack of confidence to effect change. It is after all their institute, the Institute of Law at Nirma University (ILNU).But more on that later..Dr. Purvi Pokhariyal may not be a suave, smooth-talking PR expert but she certainly seems aware of the strengths and weaknesses of her institute. The lack of older faculty, for instance, is a shortcoming she is acutely aware of and admits to quite early on in the interview. She is also keen to emphasize that despite the private nature of Nirma University, all UGC norms are followed to the letter. However, she also says that because ILNU works as one institute amongst many under the Nirma umbrella, some times certain things take time for approval from the management..Originally teaching at the MS University in Baroda (where she set up the University’s five-year law programme), the Director comes across as a frank individual who can get things done. And to give credit where it is due, she has also executed some interesting hires, such as getting a full time faculty for moot preparations, getting people like Soli Sorabjee, Dushyant Dave, and Prof. Madhava Menon to be associated with the institute..I am sitting in one of the staff rooms and Associate Professor Tarkesh Moila is talking about the various types of data that is collected vis-à-vis the students. It is quite an extensive amount of analysis. Right from the number of hours a student has spent in the library, to the average CLAT scores of admitted students over the past five years, to the library budget allocations – clearly someone has spent a lot of time on this. They also have a geographical breakup of the student body, and from a statistical point of view, it certainly merits a second look. Building a student database, along with statistical analysis, is an exercise that other law schools could implement and benefit from..I am walking on the wide, shaded roads past the multiple canteens (for different institutes of the university) and the football field. When it comes to infrastructure, ILNU does impress. Given that the university’s management school has a good reputation, the law students could have the benefit of management courses. When I visited though, there was no such formal process put in place. The classrooms too are well built, although the presence of video and audio recorders is a bit disconcerting. Evidently, they have been put in place to monitor and assess faculty performance but can also be used to monitor student behavior..Infrastructure-wise, there are only two shortcomings I could notice..One, the size of the library. For a student population touching nine hundred, the library is simply too small, and this is certainly something the administration needs to take into account. Two, the lack of hostel facilities, at least for the undergraduate law programme. Although the university does have a tie-up with privately run hostels, an on-campus hostel would certainly make things better. It is an option that the management could certainly consider..The location of the University can work against you, since public transport to and fro is hard to come by. However, the High Court itself is a twenty-minute auto-ride away and this could work in favour of those looking to work with litigating lawyers. Having said that though, the university lies on a stretch of highway that is seeing massive development, bringing student magnets such as malls and restaurants closer. The annual fees, at a lac and twenty-five thousand rupees, are also lower than what is being charged at the national law schools..One last comment worth making relates to the fact that ILNU offers a 100% scholarship to five students whose total parental income is two and half lac or less. Of course there is a rider – these students have to be within the first 50 in the list of admitted students. In all there are fifteen such scholarships available on a merit and income basis. I think this is commendable and something that other universities, private or otherwise, ought to consider. Recently GNLU announced a similar scheme of scholarships, and one hopes that this becomes a trend..So what do I think of ILNU? Well, if the few students I spoke to accurately reflect the general student sentiment, than there is a definite breakdown of communication between student and administration. And this is something that ought to be taken up on a priority basis. When it comes to physical infrastructure, ILNU rates quite highly although the small library and lack of on-campus hostel are big negatives. When it comes to networking, I certainly see ILNU students participating in, and doing quite well in moot courts and this is certainly raising the institutes’ profile. Thus, if the administration and the student body can sort out their differences, ILNU can be considered as an option.
