Law School Darshan: NUSRL Ranchi

“We are number one among all the national law universities,” a proud student emphatically states. He pauses, looks around and grins cheekily. “In terms of how much fees we pay!” he says. Although said with a smile, the high fees charged by the National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi (NUSRL) does merit greater attention. As I walk around the sprawling 70-odd acre campus, all that can be seen are a couple of buildings amidst a sea of barren nothingness. That, and a few cows. The big question is – Where are all the funds going? Ironically enough, my walk is accompanied by the bass line of Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ blaring from one of the boys’ hostel rooms. Do they have ACs in their hostel rooms? Nope. State-of-the-art infrastructure? Nada. Are their faucets made of gold? Negative. I must get to the bottom of this..I’m waiting in the administrative block, luggage and all, for the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. B C Nirmal to turn up. The first thing I notice is that the general atmosphere is pretty laid-back – it’s well past 11 am and members of the administrative staff are only just sauntering in. A couple of them mistake me for a student who has gotten into trouble and try to poke around for gossip. I decide to have a bit of fun and tell them that the VC has expelled me for constantly turning up late to class..Dr. Nirmal, a veteran academician, is a rather open individual. In fact, this openness, as I would find later, is a characteristic of the students and the faculty as well. They don’t seem to want to hide anything. Dr. Nirmal bemoans the state government’s failure to supply the University with adequate funds. According to Dr. Nirmal, the University has received only a single grant of Rs. 50 crore from the government since inception. While this answers my question to an extent, I can’t help thinking that there’s more information to be garnered from the University’s greatest resource – the students..Even though it’s exam time, quite a few students can be seen casually roaming about. A couple of first-years are reluctant to say too much, describing everything as a non-committal “nice”. However, others are more forthcoming. A third year explains why he thinks the University hasn’t progressed as much as it should have. The land on which the new campus is built was disputed, with the government doing little to help the University’s cause. Once the government changed, the dispute was settled in favour of the University and they were allowed to construct on the land. Another senior student recounts a story of maladministration most foul. According to the student, out of the 50 crore sanctioned to the University, only 35 crore has been accounted for. This, he says, is the outcome of the accounts being done by two people in a matter of hours. There is general consensus on the administration’s incompetence, with students quoting various hardships suffered at the instance of lackadaisical babudom..It is lunch time and the aroma of aloo paranthas beckons. The approach to the mess is through the kitchen, which is pretty well-maintained. The food is above average, compared to the fare served in other NLUs. For those complaining about a lack of variety, there’s the canteen which serves, among a host of veg and non-veg options, a pretty mean chicken-egg roll and wry comic relief (free) from the operator. When a student complains about the excess of oil in her fried rice, he points to the juice stand outside and says in his inimitable deadpan manner, “Utna health-conscious ho? Bahar jao, aur juice pee lo.” An interesting thing to note is the rapport between senior and junior students, who often sit together for meals. There is absolutely no ragging, apart from the ice-breaking ‘introduction’ sessions. The batches, however, differ on what they think about the University. While the newer students complain about the lack of facilities, the seniors say that they are lucky, having shared a campus with a nearby college till August last year..Another point of contention is NUSRL’s unique compulsory mooting rule for law subjects throughout the five years. The enthusiastic juniors are grateful for the kind of practice and exposure they get as a result. However, enthusiasm, like all good things, erodes during the course of five years in a law school. The jaded senior students have had enough of mooting and see it as an extra burden to their already packed academic schedule. Although the rationale behind the rule might have been to encourage students to join the Bar, it might just end up driving them in the opposite direction. Irrespective of the division in opinion on the subject, the results are clear to see – the University has been doing reasonably well in Moot Court competitions of late. Both sets of students are in agreement on one thing, though – the University doesn’t do enough to enable the students to participate in extra-curricular activities. Apart from getting zero financial assistance, those who participate in moots but don’t place in the top three aren’t even given academic leave, leading to attendance issues. As for debates, sports and cultural events held outside the campus, the students might as well forget they exist..One of the signs that a University is doing well is its ability to attract and keep experienced faculty. Unfortunately, this is not something NUSRL has managed to do. A Ph.D. student points out that the University has only one teacher who is a Professor (the Vice-Chancellor) and none at the Associate Professor level. The teachers themselves acknowledge this to be a disturbing trend. Assistant Professor Dr. Sreenivasa Murthy says, “This is one of the very few NLUs which doesn’t have permanent faculty. If we keep hiring teachers on a contractual basis, we will not be able to attract new teachers to the University because of the lack of job security.” Apart from being a source of support and guidance to his students, Dr. Murthy is also the faculty head of the recruitment cell. Preparations for getting students of the first graduating batch are in full swing. “We have contacted over 90 law firms, corporations and other organizations for recruitment. Hopefully, the response will be good,” he says, optimistically..The library is minimally stocked, limited to a few racks of essential reading. There are no other facilities to speak of, although a moot court hall, an auditorium and a sports ground are “in the pipeline.” The hostels, though, are spacious. The boys stay two to a room, and with the construction of a new building, this will soon change to single occupancy. However, over the past few months, the construction has been as erratic as the Wi-Fi signal on campus. Another cause of concern is the fact that the campus is located in a desolate area, roughly 18 kilometers away from the main city. This, coupled with inadequate security on campus and Ranchi’s crime statistics, does not paint a very pretty picture. Although there haven’t been any untoward incidents yet, the VC recognizes this as a problem which will somehow be solved once the faculty quarters are built on campus..The last rays of the dying afternoon sun filter into the administrative block, illuminating the mural of the NUSRL emblem. Despite the lack of amenities and the complaints, students see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. To say that NUSRL Ranchi is a work in progress is an understatement. To be fair, it can be said that the top national law schools today were initially run on shoe-string budgets. There’s also the fact that this relatively nascent University has had to play helicopter shots to googlies (couldn’t resist – we are in Dhoniland, after all) delivered by a devastating bowling attack comprising the previous administration and the state government..It’s a cold exam night and rather than huddling up in their rooms and poring through notes, the students light a small bonfire and sing songs over cups of comforting chai. One look at this scene and you can make out that this is a breed that will survive. And with an experienced and respected academician at the helm, things can only get better from here.