What is NLAT?
National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) was conducted by National Law School of India University (NLSIU) situated in Bangalore in the year 2020. It was conducted solely for the admissions to undergraduate and post-graduate programmes, i.e. BA.LLB (Hons.) and LLM. NLSIU did not accept the scores of CLAT for the academic year 2020-2021.
The registrations for the same opened on September 3, 2020, and the last date for registering was September 10, 2020. The exam was held on September 12, 2020.
What is the syllabus of NLAT?
The NLAT tested the candidates on five subjects. They are legal reasoning, English language, quantitative techniques, logical reasoning, general knowledge, and current affairs. It had four general comprehensions. The comprehensions had ten questions each. So, the paper had 40 questions.
Out of these ten questions, two questions were there from each subject, and the passages were not more than 500 words.
What is the intake?
The intake of NLAT was 120 students.
What is the eligibility criterion?
The candidates must have scored a minimum of 45% in 12th standard if they are of general category or PWD students. In case they are scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, they must have scored a minimum of 40%.
What is the pattern of the exam?
1) The exam took place in the English language.
2) Maximum marks prescribed for the exam was 80 marks.
3) The questions were MCQ’s.
4) The duration of the exam was of 45 minutes.
5) 2 marks were awarded for every correct answer, 0.25 marks were deducted for every unanswered question, and 0.5 marks were deducted for every wrong answer.
6) The exam was not an open-book exam; the candidates were not allowed to take help from any other person during the exam.
7) Candidates were only allowed to attempt a question once. This means that they were not permitted to re-visit any question.
What will happen in case of a tie-breaker?
In case of a tie-breaker, firstly, higher marks scored in legal reasoning questions will be considered. Secondly, higher marks scored in the exam will be considered. In the last, a computerized draw of lots would take place.
What problems were faced by children during NLAT – 2020?
1) Many candidates faced the verification problems. It took up to 45 minutes, and some students were not even able to write the exam at all. Some of them did not get extra time that they lost due to verification problems.
2) The exam was submitted on its own even before the time stipulated.
3) The students were being warned that their mic is not on even when the mic was on.
4) When the students were trying to select the options, they were not getting selected. The students had to make multiple attempts to select the options.
5) The worst problem faced by students was that on opening the portal, it was displayed that the students had already completed the exam.
6) The face of the children was not getting detected even after the students were sitting in front of their webcam.
7) In some cases, the timer of the exam stopped, and then started showing significantly less time.
8) Some students even lost time because they had to switch from laptop to their phones or vice-versa because of the problems faced by them.
9) Some students were not able to login because the site crashed.
10) The slot message sent to the students’ night before the exam and on the day of the exam was different from each other.
11) When the students were facing these problems, they called on the helpline number provided to them. Most of the times, it was not answered, and if it was answered, then the advice given was not at all helpful.
What were the unfair means adopted by students?
1) Students used a calculator and mobile phones.
2) Some people were posting the questions on telegram.
3) The students searched for the answers on Google on a separate tab or device.
4) Some of the candidates used HDMI cables so that they could display the same screen on many devices.
5) People posted videos on YouTube analysing the exam when all the students did not even submit it.
6) A student in an internet café faced towards the camera and acted as if he was writing the exam, but in reality, another person was writing the exam. The only requirement of this was a long cord with a webcam.
