'CLAT paper was tough'

Exam made tougher in response to criticisms of it being easy last year

According to members on the CLAT committee, the question paper set this year for the examination was much tougher in response to criticisms that the CLAT 2009 was simple and easy. “It is likely that The National Law Institute University (NLIU) Bhopal tried to correct the more liberal paper set in 2009 and set a tough question paper this year,” said a member of the CLAT committee.

Students complained of the General Knowledge section being tougher than expected and saw a dent in their aspirations to enter the 11 prestigious law colleges under the CLAT. Analysts state that a score of 155 and above may in all likelihood provide a safe bet for aspirants to expect a call from any one of the colleges.

The examination papers set by NLIU Bhopal, reported no fiascos as had occurred the previous year. Last year, the CLAT in its second edition saw the exam, scheduled for May 17, being postponed after authorities found locked steel boxes with the test material tampered with in Lucknow. But this year, the authorities found no such instances reported.

NLIU officials who spoke to Deccan Herald said reports from across the country indicated a smooth examination on Sunday.

“There were no untoward incidents reported anywhere this year and all centres indicated smooth sailing through the examination,” informed CLAT Convener, S S Singh of NLIU. The institute reported an increase of nearly 25 per cent over the number of students who applied for the CLAT examination last year.

In Bangalore, the examination was conducted smoothly at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU). According to the NLSIU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Venkat Rao, NLSIU saw 753 aspirants seated for the examination with another 67 for the post-graduate entrance conducted on Sunday.

The CLAT 2010 saw as many as 16,500 aspirants appearing for the examination for the undergraduate course (LLB) and 750 students for the Postgraduate (LLM) course across the country. It was convened in 35 centres in India where students competed for the prized seats in the country’s law colleges spread from Bangalore to Lucknow and from Gandhinagar to Kolkota.

The examination saw most number of aspirants from Delhi where 4,143 applications were received and the least interest was expressed from Guwhati which saw only 225 people apply for the examination.

GK was the toughest

Anita T, Course Director for CLAT at Paradygm Law, a coaching institute, said General Knowledge (GK) was the hardest section and Mathematics was the easiest.

“GK section was a mix of History, Current Affairs and Political Science.” English received mixed reviews and Legal Aptitude was standard. “Anything above 155 on 200 can be considered a good score,” she said.

Abhinay from Christ Junior College found it easier and shorter than expected. However, he too found the GK section hard. “It had too many History questions and dates.”

Reshma opined that Mathematics, Logical Reasoning and English were good but GK was totally unanticipated. So did Roshini Vijaykumar, a student from BMS Law College. “I had studied stuff like presidents of organisations, and was up-to-date with current affairs, and none of it came. I found it lengthy and couldn’t finish my paper,” she said.