NUJS Kolkata has introduced a 10-seat state domicile reservation for admissions, reported Bar & Bench.
Vice chancellor Ishwara Bhat told Bar & Bench that the West Bengal government would provide NUJS with 3000 square metres of land to build a girl’s hostel, after which the academic council made the decision to introduce to quota. “Almost all law schools have some form of reservation and at NUJS, these seats are less than 10 per cent of the total seats avaialble,” Bhat said.
Only NLSIU Bangalore, NLU Jodhpur and NLU Orissa do not have state reservations, reported Bar & Bench.
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if they are willing to sell off their integrity they should have at least got 5 more acres instead of .75
However, for some time now, I've opened myself up to the idea that perhaps it was time for NUJS to concede some ground here. Bear with me, & I'll explain how this isn't only because I've traveled from the 'city of armchair idealists' to the 'city of horseback politicking'.
1. Sanctity of Reservations
Is there any sanity behind these reservations? If NO, then we must scrap them everywhere as it's illogical & unfair to implement them selectively. But if the answer is YES, then the implementation has to be measured, uniform and rational. For instance, I've long felt that things are harder for students from my state (which isn't West Bengal, & provides negligible reservations for its state domicile) when they apply outside the state - their own state doesn't fend for them, while other states fend them off.
Things get confusing, nay outrageous when you compare one state which implements such reservations with another which doesn't. Why the injustice? Personally, I advocate a master plan to phase out reservations altogether over a ~50 year period, but until then there has to be a semblance of rationality & uniformity in implementation. So to speak, and I say this tongue in cheek, lack of reservation anywhere is a threat to reservation everywhere; and reservation anywhere is a threat to lack of it everywhere.
2. State Govt Support to Law Schools
Sample this. A simple Google search reveals the extent of State Govt patronage to different law schools (figures quoted in news archives/ Govt notices):
- GNLU - 50 acres land, over Rs 200 crores in grants
- NLU D - reimbursement of 100% recurring & non-recurring expenses, grant of Rs 85 Crores over 5 years
- NALSAR - Received over Rs 50 Crores in grants, land for a big campus, & possibility of additional 150 acres & Rs 60 Crores in future
- NLU J - 55 acres land (&, I'm told by an NLU J alumnus that 'sufficient funds' are granted by the State Govt under a scheme)
- NLU O - Rs 160 Crores sanctioned for development
(PS: If correct, the above may be instances of only a few of such grants)
NUJS, to the best of my knowledge, has received nil or negligible funds from the State Govt. The research/ academic exercises undertaken at the University in collaboration with the State Govt are mostly on account of the University/ faculty's initiatives. All University affairs (academic/ extra-curricular/ student body or placement related) are handled by the University or the students. I must add here that nearly all national law schools of repute receive Rs 9-12 Crores annually from the UGC, and most others receive additional grants from the State Govt. Even NLSIU receives an annual grant (Rs 4 or 5 Crores) from the State Govt, & the year in which there were indications of a cut-back in that grant, the financial instability of the University made news.
Running law schools cannot be easy business. Teachers are barely paid adequately, yet there is an expectation to retain good faculty despite their their prospects of better professional choices (as lawyers/ consultants/ academics at foreign law schools or private Indian law schools). Every time the UGC rationalises teacher salaries, retrospectively increasing expenditures, the law school VCs must want to go & hide somewhere. Student fees are not high enough (such as in private universities) for these law schools to be self-reliant; and yet the expectations are that these law schools will compete with the IITs and the IIMs which receive Rs 150+ Crores annually.
All things considered, if conceding 10% seats (or even as high as say, 20% such as at NALSAR) at NUJS would permit it to add immediate infrastructure & open the doors to seeking patronage in the future, then I'm all for it. There is a substantial number of state residents who walk in through those doors every year, & I don't feel that that these 8-10 seats would alter the balance significantly. If anything, these might ensure that NUJS continues to deliver on its promises.
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