Eight IDIA Scholars make it to various NLUs even as IDIA seeks further funding

Out of the 24 scholars trained by the Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA), 8 scholars have cleared CLAT 2014 and gained admission to different national law universities (NLUs) across the country. Along with these 8 scholars, 2 scholars Mohammed Danish Gani and Namrata Dubey have got admitted to the Nirma Institute of Law in Ahmedabad..Out of the 8 scholars, 4 scholars have got admission in NLU Odisha, 3 will be going to NLU Jodhpur and 1 to the CLAT organizing university this year, GNLU Gandhinagar..Three visually impaired scholars Akhil Lendale, Asha Ramesh and Tulsiram Mudavath have made it to NLU Odisha along with Pritam Das..Scholars Ron Joy and Aritra Mondal along with Veeranna Badavathu, who is visually challenged, have made it to NLU Jodhpur..Jumika Yeptho has got a seat at GNLU Gandhinagar..IDIA has been training underprivileged students from diverse sections of the society to clear the CLAT entrance examination. However, the organization now needs to raise Rs. 12 lakh a year (or 60 lakh over the next 5 years) to fund the education of their scholars, and also take care of training expenses..IDIA Founder and Managing Trustee Shamnad Basheer said, “We are hoping that in the coming years, more NLUs would realise that we are effectively doing their job and reaching out to underprivileged students so as to foster more diversity at the law schools.”.As of now, only NLSIU Bangalore and NLU Delhi grant scholarships for IDIA kids. NUJS also grants IDIA scholarships, but only to one scholar in a year. “This year, VIPS institute in Delhi has also committed to granting scholarships to IDIA scholars. Nirma institute of law is also sympathetic to our cause and we are hopeful that they will open up a scholarship soon.”.Talking about the plans for this year, Basheer added, “This year will be a year of consolidation for IDIA. We’ve just hired Kranti Vanga as executive Vice President and head of operations. Kranti is now focussing on streamlining the various processes of IDIA and ensuring that we migrate to a more solid institutional platform.”.You can read the profiles of the IDIA Scholars here..More information on the IDIA can be found here.