NLSIU test: Students shocked by fiat on physical centres

Law school says those not able to write NLAT from home can take them only from designated centres

Several candidates who did not have adequate infrastructure to take the online home-based test for admissions to the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) had got help from non-governmental organisations, who had promised to set up physical centres.

However, they were shocked when NLSIU on Thursday stated on its website that students cannot appear for the test in centres outside the list identified by the National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) authorities.

Note on website

“Our technological systems will identify the location and descriptors of all devices. If there is evidence of people working together in a single site, this will be interpreted as evidence of malpractice unless this is a centre or a group identified by NLAT,” said a note on the website. A few candidates were relying on offices that had agreed to allow them to appear for NLAT from their premises. “We are taken aback seeing this announcement just two days before the examination. We will call the NLAT helpline and seek permission to write from the office in Bengaluru where five of us will be appearing for the test,” a candidate, who registered for NLAT in Bengaluru, said.

The candidate said they had made these arrangements after NLSIU said that if candidates do not have the facilities to appear for NLAT 2020 from their homes, they could appear at a place where necessary facilities are available.

NLSIU has updated the list of centres where candidates could appear. As many as 35 centres have been updated on the website and none of these centres are in Karnataka. However, NLSIU authorities said that besides these centres, other centres too have been whitelisted by them. “If any candidates are appearing for the test from a centre where there will be more than one candidate, they have to get in touch with us,” said a source in NLSIU.

Simulation test

Meanwhile, candidates appearing for NLAT on September 12 can take a simulation test on September 11. This will be the exact same time as their batch for the actual NLAT examination. Later in the day, however, NLSIU changed its stance and said candidates may be allocated different batch timings for the simulation test than the actual NLAT examination. This was to avoid malpractice, the university said.