Through a project named 'Niyama Gothra Padhathi' under the Wayanad District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and Scheduled Tribes Development Department, nine students from tribal communities of Wayanad have cracked the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). The students cleared the entrance after three months of intense coaching by experts in the field. Senior professors and lawyers practising in the Supreme Court provided training to the students for 45 days offline and 45 days online. All the 27 students who attended the coaching stayed together and underwent online training due to COVID-19 regulations.
The programme, which aims to provide training to tribal students, was started in 2020. Last year, only one student, Radhika, had cleared CLAT. "Students from the Wayanad tribal population coming into the legal profession is very rare. That is why we decided to start this training exclusively for them. Last year, we did an orientation programme at all model residential schools in Wayanad," said Wayanad DLSA secretary K Rajesh. Radhika now studies at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies in Kochi.
"This year, 69 students were selected for orientation. Among them, 30 students were interested in studying law. Out of that, 27 attended the full training. Nine of them have been selected for the first allotment. One of them got into NUALS, Kochi. We are waiting for the allotment of others," Rajesh said. He added that the remaining 18 students are still preparing for the Kerala Law Entrance Exam (KLEE).
The people who provided training to the students were Dr Kavita Chalakkal, professor at Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida; Dr Gireesh from the Law Department of Central University of Kerala, Thiruvalla campus, and Dr Jayashankar, HoD of the same department; Noel Mathew from Kozhikode Law College; and advocates George and Jasmine who practise in the Supreme Court.
Apart from this, Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education, a non-profit organisation, also provided support and help in training the students.