The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is an all India entrance examination conducted by 11 National Law Universities for admissions to their under-graduate and post graduate degree programmes (LL.B & LL.M). The 11 participating NLUs in the order of their establishment are:

National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU).
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (NALSAR).
National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU).
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS).
National Law University, Jodhpur(NLU).
Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur (HNLU).
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar (GNLU).
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow (RMLNLU).
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala (RGNUL).
Chanakya National Law University, Patna (CNLU).
National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi (NUALS).

CLAT was conceptualized and implemented pursuant to a case filed at the Supreme Court of India highlighting the hardships of students who would have to appear for several separate entrance examinations. Prior to the case being decided, the Ministry of Human Resource Development brokered a settlement between the various law schools to conduct a common, all India entrance examination which was labeled as CLAT.

As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the first CLAT Committee (consisting of Vice-Chancellors of the participating NLUs) decided that the test should be conducted by rotation in the order of their establishment. CLAT-2008 (NLSIU, Bangalore), CLAT-2009 (NALSAR, Hyderabad) and CLAT-2010 (NLIU, Bhopal) were conducted accordingly. CLAT 2011 conducted by The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS).

THE UNDER-GRADUATE PROGRAMME OFFERED BY THE NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES

[5 year integrated BA/B.Sc/B Psc/ BBA/ BCom LL.B (Hons) Degree Course]

Eligibility:

To be eligible to appear for CLAT-2011, a candidate should have passed his/her Higher Secondary School/Intermediate Examination (10+2) or its equivalent examination with not less than 50% marks in aggregate (45% in case of SC/ST/OBC and persons with Disability).~ Candidates who have appeared in the 10+2 examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to appear in the test.° Age of candidate should not be more than 20 years in case of General/OBC candidates (22 years in case of SC/ST and persons with Disability).
Pattern of the CLAT Paper for entry to the Under-graduate Programme:

The different subject areas of the exam are explained as under:

1. English including Comprehension

The English section will test the candidate’s proficiency in English based comprehension passages and grammar. In the comprehension section, candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein etc. The grammar section requires correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, filling in of blanks in sentences with appropriate words, etc.
2. General Knowledge/Current Affairs

This section will only test students on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between May 2010 and May 2011)
3. Mathematics

This section will test candidates only on “elementary” mathematics i.e. maths that is taught till the class 10.
4. Logical Reasoning

The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the student’s ability to identify patterns, logical links and rectify illogical arguments. It will include a wide variety of logical reasoning questions such as syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested, as this tends to disadvantage those that are visually impaired.
5.Legal Aptitude/Legal Awareness

Legal Aptitude/Legal Awareness This section will test students only on “legal aptitude”. Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be “true” in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition might be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others that are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the “truth” of these propositions and answer the question accordingly.

Candidates will not be tested on any prior knowledge of law or legal concepts. If a technical/legal term is used in the question, that term will be explained in the question itself. For example, if the word patent is used, the meaning of patent (“a legal monopoly granted by the government for certain kinds of inventions”) will also be explained.

An Entrance Examination is an Examination which is conducted by various Educational Institutions to select students for admission in various College or Universities. These Examinations can be administered at any level of education, though these are conducted at higher level of education. Entrance Examinations are the Testing Grounds for any Student to evaluate one’s abilities and capabilities in relation to the Admission into an Institution he/she has chosen and in relation to one’s chosen Academic Stream. Most of the Entrance Examination are conducted by Elite Institutes. These Institutes are known for their Superior Result oriented, cream of Faculty and Candidates and as such have gained a lot of Reputation. Most of the Popular Entrance Examinations in India are AIEEE, JEE, CLAT, MBBS, BDS to name a few. Indian Entrance Examinations are widespread with just about most of the Institutes conducting their own separate Entrance Examinations on the same basis as of National Entrance Examinations. Some of the Entrance Examinations like the IIT-JEE, CAT and AIPMT are considered among the toughest in the world, with JEE having a success rate of around 1 in 45. Over the year these Examinations have gained high importance, have become very topical, important and in the process has garnered controversies which have affected students, parents and the administrators.

History of Indian Entrance Examinations

Entrance Examinations emerged with establishment of the University of Calcutta in 1857. The University introduced the Entrance Examination, primarily to decide as to who was eligible for admission to the University. The Examination attained the Status of a School Leaving Examination. Subsequently, the name was changed to Matriculation. After independence of India in 1947, the Examination System was further revised: the Secondary Examination after class X was called the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam and the examination after class XII was called Higher Secondary Examination (HSC). However the Modern Entrance Examinations of Today owe their existence to the various IIT’s (Indian Institute of Technology) set up during the 1950’s. It was the IITs which introduced the All-India Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) for their admissions. The logic behind introducing these as formal procedure was that varied marks of different school boards could not be used to create a common merit list. Since the inception of JEE, various Indian States followed the pattern and started Entrance Tests for admission in respective states. Soon the Central Board of Secondary Education started PMT (Pre Medical Test) for select medical colleges in the country and the All India Entrance Exam'>Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) for admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and also for any engineering institution which may opt for it.

Entrance Examinations held in India

* Most of the Government and Private Educational Institutes conduct Entrance Examinations for various professional courses. These Entrance Examinations are basically Multiple Choice Question Papers or more popularly known as MCQ’s in the Academic Lingo. This Pattern was introduced as it was considered that scores obtained by school students are based on conventional, long-answer papers which might not represent the actual potential of a student. The reason being given that these scores can represent a Human Examiner’s Errors and as such these would be unacceptable in a closely competitive environment where even a mark or two could affect a student’s career. This subjectivity was eliminated with the introduction of a Special Examiner. It is known as OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) reading Laser which was introduced in 2006.

* Usually Engineering Institutes in India admit 15% of their students through the national-level AIEEE and the remaining 85% based on their scores in the entrance exam conducted by the state in which the college is located.

* Government Medical Institutes follow the same procedure, basing admissions on the candidate’s rank at the All India Pre-Medical Test.

* Indian Institutes of Management conducts a Common Admission Test for the candidates.

* Indian Institutes of Technology conducts IIT-JEE.

Various Entrance and Eligibility Examinations in India

Entrance Exam'>Engineering Entrance Exams:

AIEEE – All India Engineering/Architecture Entrance Exam.
JEE – Joint Entrance Examination.
GATE – Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.
NATA – National Aptitude Test in Architecture.
SLIET – Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology Entrance Test.
State Entrance Exam'>Engineering Entrance Exams – PTU CET, RPET etc.

Medical Entrance Exams:

AIPMT – All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Exam.
AIIMS – All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Entrance Examination.
AICEE – All India Common Entrance Examination, by Veterinary Council of India.
State Medical Entrance Exams – PTU CET, RPET etc.

Science / Computer Entrance Exams:

CST – Competence in Software Technology Exam.
GSA – Graduate School Admission Test.
JAM – Joint Admission Test to M.Sc.
JEST – Joint Entrance Screening Test for Ph.D. Admission.

Management Entrance Exams:

ATMA – AIMS Test For Management Admission.
CEMAT – Commonwealth Executive MBA & MPA Programmes Admission Test.
CAT – Common Admission Test.
IBSAT – ICFAI Business School Aptitude Test.
IIFT – Indian Institute of Foreign Trade MBA Admission Test.
ICET – Integrated Common Entrance Test.
JMET – Joint Management Entrance Test.
K-MAT – Karnataka Management Aptitude Test.
MAT – Management Aptitude Test.
NAT – National Aptitude Test.
NCHMCT – National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology – Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
NMAT – National Management Aptitude Test.
OPENMAT – Open Management Admission Test – Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
RMAT – Rajasthan Management Admission Test.
SET – Symbiosis Entrance Test for Symbiosis Undergraduate Institutes of SIEC Deemed University.
SNAP – Symbiosis National Aptitude Test.
TANCET – Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test.
WAT – Written Admission Test – Army Welfare Education Society (AWES).
XAT – Xavier Admission Test.

Law Entrance Exams:

CLAT – Common Law Admission Test.
Kerala Law Entrance Examination.
Nalsar Entrance Test.
NLSIU – National Law School of India University Entrance Test.
LSAT – Law School Admission Test, India by LSAC.

Fashion & Technology Entrance Exams:

CEED – Common Entrance Examination for Design.
NID Entrance Exam.
NIFT Entrance Exam.
Pearl Academy of Fashion Entrance Exam.

Film & Television Entrance Exams:

Film and Television Institute of India Entrance Examination.
National School of Drama (NSD) Screening Test.

Advantages of Entrance and Eligibility Examinations

* It develops a self high esteem especially for those who suffer from low morale. If someone feels or actually has given just satisfactory Board Examinations, he / she can make up with Entrance Examinations. Success in these raises their self esteem.

* Such Entrance Examinations ensure that only the best minds get the best opportunities.

* Potential students turn into able minded Professionals who in turn help in the development of the country.

* A better performer inspires others to do well owing to the competitive spirit created by the Competitive Scenario.

Disadvantages of Entrance and Eligibility Examinations

* Current trends show that the quality of students taking admissions in IITs is decreasing rapidly since 2005.

* These Examinations have enabled the mushrooming of Coaching Institutes, most of which are more interested in cashing in on the opportunity rather than guiding the students.

* The Coaching Centres are not only making Education a business but they also teach short cuts which do enable a student to pass the Examination but are short of the proper knowledge associated with purpose of Entrance Examinations. In the end aspirants maybe good students but not good professionals because they don’t know the basics of their job-at-hand.

* These Examinations become an extra source of pressure for the students who are already dealing with the competitive environment in all spheres. This pressure can lead to total loss or lack of interest in studies. However some succumb to pressure and seek upon taking their lives or abusing themselves.

* Cases of Psychological illness over the years has increased amongst the youth of today. They have to deal with so much these days like going to school, doing homework, preparing for weekly or monthly tests, going for extra Coaching for weak subjects and so on. In such an environment there is no scope for sports, health activities or simply fun based activities. As such the physical health also suffers in the form of various ailments.

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a centralised test for admission to prominent National Law Universities in India. The test is taken after the 12th grade for admission to graduation (also known as Bachelors) courses in Law. This exam was conducted for the first time on 11 May 2008. A total number of 1037 seats  from seven law schools were offered to be filled by the test. The results of the first CLAT were announced on May 19, 2008. The two-hour admission test consists of objective type covering questions on English, general knowledge, basic mathematics, besides legal and logical reasoning.The second CLAT, for the academic year 2009-10 is scheduled for 17 May 2009. This year eleven law schools are participating in CLAT.

Common Law Admission Test 2009 (CLAT 2009)

The second entrance examination through CLAT for admitting students for the academic year 2009-10 is scheduled for 17 May, 2008. From seven last year, the list of participating law schools for this year has increased to eleven.

The following law schools admitted the students on the basis of the scores obtained by the candidates in CLAT:

1. National Law School of India University, Bangalore
2. National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (Nalsar) University of Law, Hyderabad
3. National Law Institute University, Bhopal
4. The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
5. National Law University, Jodhpur
6. Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
7. Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
8. Chanakya National Law University, Patna
9. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow
10. National University of Advanced Legal Studies, (Kochi)
11. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala