Several candidates who appeared for the re-test of the National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) 2020 on Monday were relieved that they got another opportunity to write the test as they were unable to write the test on Saturday due to technical glitches. However, many candidates said they continued to face technical glitches because of which they were unable to login.
According to a press release issued by the university, nearly 80% of the candidates who were offered the re-test appeared for the examination. However, National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru did not specify how many students appeared for the re-test. NLSIU conducted a re-test following complaints by candidates about technical glitches during the exam on Saturday. The announcement of the re-test was made late on Sunday night.
A few students The Hindu spoke to, who were unable to appear even for the re-test, wondered if they would get another opportunity.
“I logged in at noon. The photo verification process took half-an-hour. I later received a message stating that they are unable to set up my audio proctoring. I didn’t attempt a single question on Saturday, and the same on Monday,” a candidate said.
The university, however, said this was because they may have not met the necessary infrastructural requirements or must have not uploaded the correct photo identification documents.
A student in one of the districts in the Malnad region had to travel 20 km to attempt the test from a cyber cafe so that there would be no distractions or technical glitches. “On Saturday, I had travelled a long distance but was unable to attempt the test soon after which I raised the issue with the authorities concerned. I got a message on Sunday night informing that I could attempt a re-test. It created last minute panic and tension, as I had to again travel 20 km. Worse, I was unable to appear for the test for the second consecutive time,” the student said.
However, a candidate, who appeared for the re-test from Kerala, said: “I was glad that I was able to attend the examination without any glitch.” NLAT was conducted for admission to UG and PG law courses at the premier NLSIU in Bengaluru after it decided to opt out of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for this year. This had created controversy and a few persons had approached the Supreme Court questioning the validity of the exam. Though the court allowed NLAT to be conducted, it ordered NLSIU not to declare results and not to proceed with admissions until the final decision was out.
