IDIA Sensitisation Programme, K.V. Vastrapur, Ahmedabad

The first visit to KV Vastrapur was made on 27th January 2011 by Aditi Sheth, Tridib Bose and Sanyukta Biswas. It was intended to take permission from the principal, Ms. Jamie James for conducting the CLAT awareness workshop for the 11th std students. She permitted and informed us to consult the Physics teacher Vandana who taught physics in 11th std, regarding the date and time of the workshop the legal and subsequent date for legal aptitude test. So to begin with, we told them the future prospective of studying law. Then we told them, the pattern of taking up streams in the 2nd year, so as to let them to know how even science can be an advantage to them. We explained the difference between an NLU and traditional law schools. We told them about the holistic approach towards legal education in NLUs especially adding the emphasis laid on projects, publications, moots, parliamentary debates, model united nations, committees etc. We finally told them about how CLAT and how to go about preparing for it. Then we told them about IDIA project. Its aim to increase cultural diversity at NlUs and efforts to draw marginalized section of students to the mainline. To touch upon humour, I had personally asked them to check good law movies such as To Kill a Mocking Bird and Erin Brockowitch.

The second visit was made on 2nd February 2011 by Aditi Sheth, Sukarn Singh Maini and Sanyukta Biswas to conduct CLAT awareness workshop. The batch consisted of 44 students from science background. The workshop took roughly 40 mins. The students made rather inquisitive and intelligent questions. 22 students showed keen interest in giving the legal aptitude test. We were informed to contact the biology teacher Moushumi who taught 11th std, for the names of those might be interested in giving the legal aptitude test.The test was conducted at K.V. Vastrapur, Ahmedabad on 9th February, 2011. 31 students appeared for the test. 4 of the team members namely, Tirth Bhatt, Shreyasi, Sanyukta Biswas and Vikrant Pachnanda conducted the test. After conducting the same, the papers were checked and 5 students were shortlisted out of which two has scored 23 on 35, two scored 20 on 25 and one scored 17 but got all her legal reasoning correct. When we met these five students in person, three said that they only gave the test to check their aptitude and that they were not interested in law. Out of these three, two also seemed not to have a problem with their income and also stated that they gave the test only to check their aptitude and that they were not interested in pursuing law. The remaining two seemed interesting and also fell within the low income bracket. However one of them has not responded back and the other is not interested in joining IMS although we did asign each of those two students mentors to assist them.

Report compiled by Sanyukta Biswas and Vikrant Pachnanda on behalf of IDIA Gujarat

IDIA Sensitisation Programme at Kendra Vidyalaya, Annanagar, Chennai

The first sensitisation programme of IDIA, Chennai Chapter was conducted in the Kendra Vidyalaya School at Annanagar, Chennai on 5th February, 2011. Mr.Naveen Kumar.M, final year student of the School of Excellence in Law, Chennai addressed the students of the 11th Standard. Around 70 students attended the programme. Mr.Ramamurthy, first year student of the School of Excellence in Law, Chennai also coordinated in conducting the programme. Mr.Naveen started his address by clearing the misconceptions that the young minds had about the legal profession. It was pointed out that ‘Law’ is no more the last resort for ambitious and aspiring students in the present day. The basic set-up of the National Law Schools and other reputed institutions was also highlighted.

The speaker explained about the prospective opportunities that law students would have in the upcoming years. An insight was provided about litigationin Courts, corporate firms and L.P.O’s and also about judicial services. The students who are very keen on the pay packages were informed that as a successful lawyer, one can make money certainly more than what other professionals can earn. The students were informed about the primary goal of IDIA and encouraged to enter into the law schools instead of confining themselves in regular courses. The growth of the Indian Legal system, the lives of great members of the Bar like Palkivala, Chagla were discussed in the course of the programme. A sound message was sent that if our country is to be driven in the right direction as many right thinking people expect, it was possible only with the active support of members of the bar and the bench. Mr.Naveen also spoke about the  scholarships available for poor students and the support that shall be extended by IDIA in this connection.

Further, the opportunities what a law school student could have like attending International moot courts, internships, debates and conferences was elucidated in the programme. Before the concluding remarks, the students were invited to clarify their queries. It was surprising to note that around 7 to 8 students had very interesting and thought-provoking questions. One girl student asked about opportunities for an academician in law schools. The speaker replied that if she gets into law teaching, she will certainly become one among the best law teachers of tomorrow. Most of the questions came from the girl students compared to that from the boys. The Principal and teachers were very accommodative and it is certain that the IDIA movement shall become a big success in Tamil Nadu.

Registration of the IDIA Trust

Friday, the 4^th of February 2011 was a momentous day for IDIA. For this was the day when the IDIA trust came into being, comprising of:

Prof. M.P.Singh, Vice Chancellor, WBNUJS

Justice Ruma Pal, ex Supreme CourtJjudge

Shishira Rudrappa, Founder, Bar and Bench

Shamnad Basheer, Ministry of HRD Professor of IP Law, WB NUJS

The trust deed appoints Prof. Shamnad Basheer as the first managing trustee.

The first meeting of the IDIA trust was held on the very same day at the National University of Juridical Science, Kolkata. The meeting was attended by all the trustees, namely, Prof. M.P.Singh, Prof. Shamnad Basheer, Mrs Ruma Pal and Shishira Rudrappa and also by the IDIA team leaders and volunteers present at NUJS. The meeting started with Prof. Basheer introducing the trustees to some of the IDIA team leaders and volunteers and thereafter each team leader was called upon to introduce his/her chapter and team before the trustees, in order to give them a fair idea about the work that has been undertaken by each of the chapters of IDIA.

Before the commencement of the presentations, the IDIA brochure prepared by Vivek Verma and Diptoshree Basu was handed out to each trustee.

The first presentation was by Diptoshree Basu who leads the Diversity at Home chapter and North East chapter of IDIA, followed by Arnab Roy who presented on the WB IDIA team. Thereafter Kumar Kislay introduced the IDIA Jitholi chapter to the trustees, Anusha Reddy on the Hyderabad chapter and Gazala on the Kashmir chapter. Priyanka Raj and Avisha Gupta presented on the training and question banks being created by IDIA for CLAT 2011. Prajna Mohapatra who heads the research and policy wing of IDIA elaborated on the various aspects on which IDIA has undertaken research and assisted the CLAT Committee 2011 to take decisions and make welcome modifications to CLAT 2011 paper.

After the presentation, Prof. Basheer introduced the other functional chapters of IDIA (such as Karnataka, Rajasthan etc) whose team leaders were not able to attend the meeting . Thereafter, the trustees interacted with the student volunteers and asked questions pertaining to the day to day functioning of the project. Mrs Ruma Pal suggested that IDIA must provide interest free loans to the IDIA scholars instead of providing full scholarships to them, given the current status of funds for the project. She also asked the students whether they have any provision for selecting girls as a part of the diversity objective. Mr. Rudrappa stressed on the need to document all the processes at IDIA so that it is easier for future teams to co-ordinate with each other and conduct all the processes without depending on any particular individual. Prof Basheer assured them that documentationwas being undertaken by each chapter and uniform formats being used by them to make the process more homogenous.

He also put forward the proposal of appointing a full time CEO from May 2011 who will oversee the functioning of the project on an all India basis.

The IDIA team thanks Debanjan Mandal, Sourav Bhagat and Paroma Ghosh of Fox Mandal Associates, Kolkata for their help in drafting and registering the trust.

Sensitization at St.Thomas sister schools

We, Neha .M.Kurian and Sachin Sathyarajan, conducted presentations on law as a career option and also about the immense opportunities in store for them at the National Law Schools. Every year a good number of students from the St. Thomas family make it to the National Law Schools. However the level of awareness about the career option is considerably low among the student community especially among science students.  

We were very excited to be back at our alma mater and speak in front of our teachers and juniors. The Principals, Career Counsellor and Faculty of both schools were very appreciative of our initiative and gave unconditional support for our endeavour. 

During the interaction it was evident that almost 90 % of the students still believed that they wouldn’t be on their own feet with a good paying job after earning the degree. The students were unanimous in the opinion that the profession was a very stagnant and corrupt one. Only few knew that compulsory apprenticeship under a senior lawyer and evening classes were a thing of past.

We highlighted that students from science background can fare equally well and are at no disadvantage in contrast to public perception. We further told them that students with aptitude in this field should definitely give it a shot as  Many students were inspired by the example of Shamnad Basheer himself who shared the same schooling and now has made such an impact at a young age. We specifically mentioned all the national law schools in India and also that the rankings published by certain magazines were flawed and not to be trusted. As expected, the varied exposure in form of internships, moot courts , debates and seminars which they would not find in other disciplines got them very excited.

The attractive salary packages did not easily sink in and many doubted whether we were bluffing. Several civil services aspirants came forward and asked about specific benefits to them. The sheer diversity of opportunities after the law course made many engineering aspirants give it a second thought as they wanted a more socially conscious field.

Several students expressed concern over the time aspect of preparing for CLAT as many were already attending other entrance coaching. Many expressed concern over the level of General Knowledge and Math questions for CLAT. We interacted with more than 350 kids and even though only a handful of them had started out with a decision to appear for CLAT, a huge number of them from all groups expressed genuine interest in CLAT and in Law at the end of the seminar. All in all it was a very positive interaction for both the students and for us and we saw a lot of hope for the field in the St. Thomas Schools. Viva St. Thomas!!!!

Winds of Change

Hey,
The IDIA blog team has been brainstorming to make this blog more helpful and entertaining for all its present and future (hopefully) readers. Watch this space for more
Much love,
The IDIA blog team

IDIA Jharkhand Sensitization Programme

IDIA Jharkhand Chapter kick started its first sensitisation programme on 25^th of October, 2010 in Ranchi. Our team comprising of Nikhil Kaman and Srishti Aishwarya, firstly went to Oxford Public School. The school authorities appreciated our “IDIA” and were more than welcoming. We were allowed to give presentations in 11^th standard which consisted of Science and Commerce sections.

We first gave presentation in Commerce sections. We started on with asking students about what idea do they possess about law as a career option and what do they expect from their career. Their idea about law seemed to be limited to the traditional notion of three year course and most of them showed a preference towards the field of Management, BBA, BCA, C.S., etc.

We began with telling them that what law as a career offers them. The thought of getting empowered and financial stability and security that the profession can offer, started catching their attention and interest. We went on to explain them about 5 year law course and about the National Law Schools and other law colleges that has five years integrated law course and the job prospects after that and the alluring packages offered by law firms. Special emphasis was laid on the fact that law offers them with myriad career opportunities ranging from jobs in law firms, International Organisations, NGOs, PRS, or getting into Judiciary Services and last but not the least, going for Litigation. We further explained them about CLAT and how to prepare for it, few students even noted down the question pattern as we discussed about it.

Our purpose of going there was elucidated to them and the whole concept of Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access project and the fact that we select students from under privileged background via an aptitude test and provide them with free of cost training for CLAT in IMS. We provided them with our contact details and requested them to go to CLAT website and IDIA blog and also to Clathacker.ning for getting a detailed idea about everything.

After our presentation was over, we asked them if they had any query or question. It was wonderful to see students posing their question and showing interest, questions were raised about how to prepare for CLAT and when does the CLAT exam takes place. We gave replies to these questions to the satisfaction of students and took their leave then, thanking them for their patience and interest.

Thereafter, we waited during the recess break after which we had to give presentation in Science Sections. What was most encouraging was that during the break, two Science students of Standard 12^th came to us, asking us about CLAT and IDIA after hearing about our presentation from their peers. The interest showed by them was amusing and confirmed that our effort to sensitize is not going in vein. They went contended after getting answers to their questions about IDIA, CLAT and how to prepare for it.

After recess break we went to Science sections where all the students were either interested in Medicines or Engineering. When we talked about law as a career option, the first response was that they don’t want to get into the field in which people fight in Courtrooms!! We tried to break their stereotype views and gave them a broad idea about what law as a career is and the job prospects and opportunities. We then told them about CLAT and IDIA. The presentation went well and students were responsive, though it was hard to make them think out of the box.

After giving our presentation we thanked the school administration and Mr. Hazra who is a teacher out there and who arranged everything, for their co-operation and whole hearted support.

After Oxford Public School, our next destination was St. John High School where we went on 26^th of October, 2010. The principal was cordial enough to allow us to give presentation. We addressed the mass of around 120 students of 11^th standard, Science stream. We began with posing some question about what idea do they have about law as a career. All they knew about was the local law college out in Ranchi and seemed disinterested. Nevertheless when we began our presentation, telling them about the job prospects and other opportunities, followed by details about National Law School and other colleges like Government Law College, Symbiosis, they started evincing interest. In fact before we could move on to tell them about CLAT, question started pouring in about how to get into National Law Schools. We then told them about CLAT exam and the fields from which questions are asked in it. The major concern of the students was how to prepare for it. We suggested them to read Wren and Martin for Grammar and magazines like Competition Success Review, Pratiyogita Darpan for General Knowledge. We went on to tell them about Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access project and that we select students from economically weak background via an aptitude test and provide them with free training for CLAT in IMS.

After our presentation was over, we asked students if they had any query. Apart from question about how to prepare for CLAT, an interesting question was raised by a student who asked that how can we help people and work for their rights after becoming a lawyer. We then elaborated on the fact that they can work with NGO’S, International Organisations like UN, Amnesty International and other Human Rights Organisation. We further gave our contact details and address of CLAT website, IDIA blog so that they can make an informed choice about their career.

With this, our presentation for the day witnessed an end. We tried going to some other schools as well, while principals of few schools exuded hostility and did not allow us at all. Some other schools like Kendriya Vidyalayas were having their Mid- Term exams and so we were asked to come in the month of December. We plan to select students in the month of December and start training them.

Apart from going to the schools to carry out sensitization programme, we used the medium of Radio to reach out to the masses. A programme on “Vidhi Shiksha ka Mahatva aur Disha Nirdesh”, talking about law as a career option and IDIA was given by me on Aakashvani, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand that was broadcasted on 28^th of October, 2010. A very good response was evoked by the programme as told by the Programme- Coordinator at Aakashvani, Hazaribagh.

In the ending note, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the IDIA Jharkhand chapter members and would like to extend special thanks to Kumar Rahul for his sincere support and Nikhil Kaman for his help in carrying out the sensitization programme.

IDIA Internship in Hyderabad

What is the IDIA?

The IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access) Movement started off under the leadership of Professor Shamnad Basheer of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) as a movement to eliminate the inequities of education. Some very disturbing statistics reflected a complete lack of diversity, with a majority of the students clearing the entrance tests for these Universities hailing from the upper middle socio economic class bracket. The IDIA team set itself up, first in NUJS, and then in other National Law Schools throughout the country, as an attempt to question and change these statistics. The aim is to provide access to the resources required to crack the entrance exam to students who would not be able to get access to them otherwise.

What does the IDIA do?

Local IDIA Chapters have been set up in Kolkata, Jodhpur, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kochi, Hyderabad and many other places. These local chapters have conducted aptitude tests in various schools for the underprivileged, and have started an intensive training programme for those who did well, and those who are interested in pursuing law as a career. A lot of students were found to be initially very apprehensive about their career prospects, but enough information was disseminated in this regard to convince most of them about the advantages of this career choice.

In addition, the IDIA has been pushing relentlessly for reforming the CLAT. These concerted efforts have resulted in the CLAT Committee agreeing to various affirmative measures—for instance, removing the section on static general knowledge, and legal knowledge completely from the paper. The rationale is to test the aptitude of the students, rather than the knowledge.

The Hyderabad Chapter

The Hyderabad Chapter is particularly interesting, since it is the only centre in the country where an effort is being made to increase access to legal education to the disabled. For this purpose, a school for the visually impaired, Sai Junior College, has been adopted in Raniganj. This school is run by the Devnar Foundation which is headed by Padma Sri Saibaba Goud who is also the President for the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness (NSPB). Ten students have been selected as IDIA Scholars, who are to receive free training for the CLAT. Laptops have been bought for these students, so that digitized study material can be converted to audio format to facilitate learning for them. Classes have recently commenced in all five subjects for these students as part of their training.

What Will Interning With the IDIA Mean?

Interning with the IDIA will mean being part of the teaching process for the IDIA scholars. The subjects to be taught include English, Logical Reasoning, Legal Reasoning, General Knowledge and Maths (grade ten levels). This is an immense opportunity, more so for law students, because the IDIA Scholars are not only exceptionally bright, but also extremely keen to learn about the Law, and understand its various facets. While most students would cherish the process of teaching in itself, the IDIA experience is that much more of a process of self-discovery in that it deals with children who have managed to devise incredibly ingenuous ways of learning for themselves. This internship presents the opportunity of being part of something extraordinary, something that might change the face of legal education in the country, but will definitely change your paradigm of life.

Requirements

All interns will be expected to help with a wide variety of work. For instance, they may be expected to conduct weekly classes, act as scribes for practice tests, help in analysis of test results etc. The internship programme will extend to at least four weeks. All students who have graduated from school, and are currently enrolled in a course in Law or are graduates from the same, are qualified to apply. Selections are subject to the discretion of the Internship Cell. No specialized experience or training is required and you can feel free to come up with new, innovative modes of teaching and working. The interns are required to work in Hyderabad  under the Hyderabad Chapter during the months of November and December.

All interns found to have worked in a committed manner by the end of the stipulated time period will be granted certificates for their efforts signed by Professor Shamnad Basheer, on behalf of the IDIA Initiative.

For further details, feel free to email  anushareddy92@gmail.com or call at 09163787994 or 09163787987

We hope to hear from you soon.