CLAT needs to be Conducted Online

Dear All

I seriously believe that the pattern and the manner in which the CLAT is conducted needs to be revamped. We all saw what happened this year. There is a complete lack of transparency. We do not know what is going on. The only thing we know (through a Press Note. To read more about the Press Note Click Here) is that somehow the Barcode Stickers of a lot of candidates got mismanaged. No offences meant, but these barcode stickers and OMR sheets are archaic concepts.

To be honest, I think that it is time to do away with OMR Sheets. The need of the hour is transparency and fairness. I say this simply because we have an option of conducting Online Exams. There are tens of important Examinations in India that are being conducted online. By online exam, I mean that the exam is conducted at multiple centres all across the nation simultaneously using Computers. Let me list some of the important examination that are conducted online today.

1. GATE – Engineering Exam for Post-Graduation.   

2. IBPS LIC AAO – Entrance Exam for LIC Recruitment.

3. United India Insurance - Entrance Exam for United India Insurance Corporation.

4. IBPS Syndicate Bank – Entrance Exam for Syndicate Bank Recruitment.

5. IBPS Corporation Bank        - Entrance Exam for Corporation Bank Recruitment.

6. IBPS RBI - Entrance Exam for Recruitment in RBI

7. IBPS RRB - Entrance Exam for Rural Regional Banks.

8. IBPS CWE PO – Entrance Exam for Specialist Officers in various banks.

9. SBI - Entrance Exam for State Bank of India Recruitment.

10. MP Judicial Services Exam - Entrance Exam for Judiciary in Madhya Pradesh.

11. PMRDF - Entrance Exam for Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow Scheme.

In some of these examinations, lakhs of candidates appear and the exam is conducted smoothly and flawlessly by taking the help of Information Technology. A lot of Government Recruitment Examinations are conducted by an organization called TCS-iON (Tata Consultancy Services).

I am not saying that Online Examinations are 100% perfect but at least they are much better than the manual OMR Sheets system. The scope of manual errors is minimal in Online Examinations.

It would be great if CLAT could be conducted online from next year. The Organizations I listed above conduct online examinations for lakhs of aspirants, then, why cannot CLAT be conducted online when it involves just 35000-40000 students?

What is an Online Examination?

A. Online examination is an assessment that uses Network Connection or Internet in its process. Individuals and students must sign in on an Assessment Program by entering unique Usernames and Passwords allotted to them.

B. Once they have logged in, they need to complete the formalities that come on the screen such as agreeing to the rules of the Examination etc.

C. Once that is done, the student can start answering the questions that is shown on the screen.

D. After the examination is finished, the student clicks on a button that would make sure that the Examination Process is complete and the student has submitted his/her answers.

Main Advantages:

1. Online examination can makes the student’s life easier because they don’t need any paper and pen to do the examination. They can simply click on the answer to submit their choice.

2. Furthermore, Online examination can be effective and efficient. The students don’t waste much time to answer the questions because they only click on the best answer that is provided. A lot of precious time is saved because the student does not need to fill the circles in the OMR sheets.

3. Another advantage is that the results come out very fast usually within 3-4 days.

Rs.4000 Application Fee

This becomes important more so in the light of the fact that CLAT charges Rs.4000 from each of its applicant. I do not think that money should be a problem for conducting CLAT Examination Online.

In fact, an Online Examination would mean that the money given by each applicant is being spent in a more efficient and transparent manner. The overall experience will definitely improve. Every year CLAT comes with its share of controversies and pessimism. It is high time to ask the CLAT Organizers to conduct CLAT Online from next year.

What do you guys think?