Students frown upon Bar Council's internship directive

The Bar Council of India’s (BCI) circular asking universities and colleges to restrict students from internships during the academic session to only during vacations, has elicited mixed reactions from students.

Some see the order as a hurdle for those wanting to gain more experience. “I have a friend who studies journalism and there is no such restriction for her.

 She has interned in about eight publications and has better knowledge about what she is studying. I would also like to apply what I am studying immediately rather than wait for vacations to realise what I have learnt,” said Shashank Rao (name changed), a second year University Law College student.

Individuals’ choice

Shashank’s classmate Harish Moitra (name changed) also feels there should be no such restriction. “Those who want to waste time will do so and those want to gain more experience will do what they want,” he said.

While the basic objective is to prevent students from neglecting their studies in favour of internships, others believe students are capable of both equally well. 

“A number of my seniors go for internships after classes. This, however, does not mean we are not serious about our classes,” said Deepika Mahesh, a law student at Christ University.

According to Karnataka State Law University Dean C S Patil, for the three-year LLB programme, the internship period is 12 weeks and for the five- year programme, it is 20 weeks.

“The attendance needed by students to write an exam is 70 per cent. A one-time internship cannot exceed more than four weeks. The move has been made for the benefit of students,” he said.  

‘No bearing on NLSIU’ 

According to National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Vice Chancellor R Venkat Rao, the BCI direction will have no bearing on NLSIU students, as they had fixed periods allocated for internship.

“The internship period at NLSIU is usually between January and March called internship vacation, and in October. Most students take up internship during this time rather than outside of it,” he said.