AP students opting for law on the rise

HYDERABAD: In a state where students set great store by a medical or an engineering degree after completing intermediate, law education too is finding a place of preference with many opting for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), which was introduced four years ago.
With three more law universities, including Cuttack's prestigious National Law University Orissa getting ready to join the May 2012 CLAT, several students from AP are now turning to this stream.Also, students in their late teens are now thinking beyond the usual trend of B Tech or MBBS education and opting for something new yet lucrative like a law degree, observers said.
The notification for CLAT-2012 will be out on January 2. This year National Law University, Jodhpur will conduct the test. Apart from NLU-Orissa, National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi and National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam have also decided to be a part of CLAT-2012.
Coaching experts said that the number of students appearing for CLAT-2012 is expected to be about 30% more than that of the previous years'. While just about a couple of thousand students had appeared for CLAT-2008, their numbers rose to about 5,000 odd in 2011. This year the figures are slated to rise further, officials from NALSAR University of Law, that conducted the 2009 test, said.
Officials are now witnessing a nationwide interest in CLAT. While in 2010, the number of students who took the examination nationally was 16,000, in 2011 it was 21,000. Currently, students from AP make up 25% of total number of CLAT takers.
Experts said students who have had a more liberal curriculum, like those in international schools or those with ICSE or CBSE syllabi have greater inclination to go in for CLAT.
"My father wanted me to go for engineering and so I took CBSE science. But later I realised that I had no aptitude for engineering and wanted to do something else. I think law will give me an opportunity to follow my aim of serving society," said Vamshi Krishna, a student of Kendriya Vidyalay.
D Naresh Reddy of Abhyaas Coaching Centre said: "With a large number of corporate law firms coming up across the country, there is a high demand for law graduates. CLAT allows students to get a law degree in just five years after which they can hope to land lucrative jobs."
According to experts many students opting for CLAT are those who already have a lawyer in their family. "There are several students whose family members are advocates or even judges are now joining for CLAT coaching. These students already have some exposure to the law and order mechanism in the state and this defines their professional choices also," said Veer Singh, Vice Chancellor, NALSAR Law University.
Officials said that with more prestigious law schools joining the CLAT, greater number of students from the state will start opting for the test. By 2013, Delhi's National Law School, one of the top law schools in the country, is expected to join CLAT.
Times view
It is high time students started looking beyond the national obsession of medicine and engineering as academic pursuits. Increasing interest in CLAT is a heartening sign that more students are breaking the mould and not succumbing to parental pressure. The country now boasts of a wide range of industries and job opportunities and it only makes sense for our youth to explore new possibilities.