'IDIA' to make law education accessible to underprivileged

To make law education accessible to a wider social milieu, a group of a law school alumni has set up ‘Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education’ (IDIA), a not-for-profit organisation and have helped around 180 candidates crack the common law admission test (CLAT). 

A picture gallery, that was inaugurated by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Veerappa Moily on Saturday, showcased the milestones of the organisation. IDIA has helped 42 students get into national law schools across the country, and of them, 13 girls and seven students are visually impaired.

Shishira Rudrappa, one of its trustees, told Deccan Herald that children of quarry workers, newspaper hawkers, pani puri vendors have got the opportunity to pursue legal education through the programme. The selected students get training up to two years in cracking the test. Volunteers approach selected schools and give an aptitude test to students interested in pursuing law as a career, apart from creating awareness about the profession. “We have not fixed a strict income limit. We have broadly kept Rs 20,000 a month as the bracket. In some cases, students have later decided to opt for literature or journalism for a career. This too is an impact of the project as the students are exposed to different career opportunities,” said Rudrappa.

The organisation is being assisted by IMS, a CLAT training institute that provides students with free study material. For those students who crack the admission test, IDIA will allot a mentor in the law school to advise them when in need. At present, some of the law schools in the country are giving a fee waiver to these students, while in other cases, the organisation depends on donors.

The organisation has its branches at present in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Gangtok and Chennai among several other cities.  
DH News Service