CLAT 2011 Significant changes for the better

The Common Law School Admission Test (CLAT) has come out with significant changes for the 2011 exam. The CLAT is followed by 11 of the National Law Universities and the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS) is the organising university for CLAT 2011. The Vice Chancellor of WBNUJS, Prof. M.P. Singh is the Chairman of the CLAT Committee this year..Changes: Firstly, no static GK questions will be asked (When did Humayun die?). Only current affairs questions (questions between May 2010 and May 2011) will be asked..Secondly, no legal knowledge will be tested. Only legal aptitude/legal reasoning will be tested. Which means students don’t need to study legal principles before they write the exam, only their process of reasoning will be tested..Thirdly, this year CLAT has tied up with the Indian post office to distribute the forms much more widely. Last 2-3 years, it was only 2-3 banks per State (and mainly States having metro cities). This year, forms will be distributed through all major post offices in every State, so that there is greater awareness and all sections of society have access to forms. It will be much more accessible to all aspirants and will also increase the number of people taking the CLAT..Speaking to Bar & Bench on the post office tie-up, Prof. Shamnad Basheer said, “The post office tie-up was recommended by the IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education) project and we sent a policy draft to the CLAT Committee which accepted the proposal of the post office distribution”..He further added, “the CLAT brochures/application forms now sell at Rs. 2,500 (and Rs. 2,000 for SC/ST candidates). As you know, the IDIA project is training kids from underprivileged backgrounds for the CLAT exam. Naturally, for all the IDIA scholars who are part of our program, we will buy these forms on their behalf and help them submit it. We have also decided to sponsor the forms of all other CLAT aspirants who may not be able to afford it. We will of course do this only after verifying their financial capabilities”..Marks Count: 200 questions with a grand total of 200 marks need to be answered within 2 hours..English including Comprehension 40 marks: The English section will test the candidate’s proficiency in English based comprehension passages and grammar..General Knowledge/ Current Affairs 50 marks: This section will only test students on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between May 2010 and May 2011). .Mathematics 20 marks: This section will test candidates only on “elementary” mathematics i.e. maths that is taught till the class 10..Logical Reasoning 45 marks: Logical reasoning will be tested on syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc..Legal Aptitude/Legal Awareness 45 marks: This section will test students only on “legal aptitude”. Candidates will not be tested on any prior knowledge of law or legal concepts..Bar & Bench https://www.barandbench.com/brief/9/1022/cracking-the-next-clat-on-may-15-2011 first reported of CLAT 2011 being held on May 15, 2011. It will be held between 3pm to 5pm and the results will be published on May 28, 2011..Visit the CLAT website for detailed information.