In the ongoing legal dispute aimed at enhancing accessibility for candidates lacking proficiency in the English language, the National Testing Agency has officially informed the Delhi High Court of its capability to administer the CLAT-UG 2024 entrance examination in regional languages. Previously, the Bar Council of India had also made a comparable declaration and asserted that the existing practice of conducting the exam exclusively in English by national law universities, on a rotational basis, lacks statutory recognition.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Delhi High on Wednesday that it can conduct the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in vernacular languages apart from English [Sudhanshu Pathak v. Consortium of National Law Universities through Secretary & Ors].
Presently, the examination that regulates admission to 22 national law universities nationwide for LLB and LLM programs is exclusively conducted in the English language.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has submitted an affidavit to the Court, indicating that it conducts examinations such as NEET-UG, JEE, and various others in numerous languages. Consequently, it possesses a substantial pool of experts and translators proficient in a diverse array of subjects, facilitating the preparation of question papers in multiple languages.
“Accordingly, the question papers in respect of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) -UG can be translated into other Indian languages, such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu and design/ printing the requisite OMR Answer Sheet in the required quantity depending upon the number of candidates to be scheduled for the said Test,” the NTA contended.
However, the NTA emphasized that if it were to oversee the CLAT (UG) 2024 examination, it could potentially take place during the third or fourth week of January 2024. It's worth noting that the currently scheduled date for the exams is December 3, 2023.
The agency has stated that it requires a minimum of four months to complete various crucial tasks, including question paper development, moderation, translation, proofreading, vetting, and validation, as well as the finalization of examination centers in major cities in accordance with past practices. Additionally, this timeframe accounts for the coordination of exam personnel and materials to be transported to the examination cities/centers, along with other essential pre-exam preparations.
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