Students, teachers unhappy over University of Mumbai's decision on law exams

A day after the University of Mumbai granted law colleges the right to conduct exams of all but the last two LLB semesters, students and teachers have criticised the decision on many grounds.

With the new decision, concerns are being raised about the whole process of conducting the exam — from organising the exams to paper assessments and the quality of papers that students would be tested on. "Today, the law degree is seen as a prestigious one and there are many takers for it. Giving complete freedom to colleges would take away transparency. Colleges would haphazardly charge for exam fees and students would be looted to no end," said Sachin Pawar, President of the Student Law Council that has threatened to protest if the varsity does not reverse its decision.

On Saturday, the University released a circular allowing all the affiliated law colleges under it to conduct exams for the V to VIII in the five year law course and I to IV of three year law course at the college level.

With colleges setting their own question papers, there is a concern for the LLB degree losing its significance. "Most colleges would try and set easy papers so that more and more students pass with good marks. This would reduce the significance of the degree to a large extent," said a faculty member of a college from the western suburbs. "The varsity should not put the burden of its failure on students and the colleges," added Pawar.