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Navodaya Programme Opens Law School Doors for Rural Students
The National Law Scholars Programme helps talented students from rural schools become lawyers.
It finds students in Navodaya schools and prepares them for the Common Law Admission Test, or CLAT.
The students live together for two years, attend regular school and receive extra coaching.
Only about 30 students are chosen each year.
The programme also helps pay for law school after students pass the entrance exam.
Students such as Anshita, Vedant, Vaishnavi and Taruna had to overcome money problems, family worries or low confidence.
They learned to speak publicly, understand new subjects and compete with students from more privileged backgrounds.
Some students still struggle to find internships and keep up with classmates.
The programme has given many of them a new direction and a chance to pursue law.
The National Law Scholars Programme helps rural Navodaya students prepare for law entrance exams.
The fully funded, two-year residential programme accepts 30 students annually.
Since its launch in 2019, 150 scholars have been selected and 120 completed the programme.
The programme continues supporting students with law-school fees and financial assistance.
Participants say coaching, mentoring and alumni support improved their confidence and career prospects.
- Who
- The National Law Scholars Programme, its founder Anoop Maurya and students from Navodaya schools.
- What
- A fully funded residential programme that prepares rural students for law entrance exams and supports them through law school.
- Where
- The programme reaches Navodaya schools across India and is currently based in Hyderabad; students later attend law schools in different locations.
- When
- It began in 2019; the article also discusses scholars selected in 2022 and 2023.
- Why
- It aims to expand access to competitive legal education for students from rural and financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Opportunity and Inclusion
Barriers and Concerns
Value of the programme
Opportunity and Inclusion
The programme gives rural and poor students coaching, mentoring, financial aid and access to law schools that might otherwise be unreachable.
Barriers and Concerns
The programme has limited capacity, accepting only 30 students a year, while many students continue to face financial, social and educational barriers.
Challenges in legal education
Opportunity and Inclusion
Residential coaching, debates, leadership activities and alumni support can build confidence and help students adjust to competitive law schools.
Barriers and Concerns
Anoop Maurya argues that CLAT disadvantages poorer students through its lengthy English-language passages, while participants report difficulty with English, networking, internships and employment.
Key facts
- Programme
- National Law Scholars Programme
- Launch year
- 2019
- Annual intake
- 30 students
- Outreach
- Roughly 10,000 students across more than 600 Navodaya schools
- Programme duration
- Two years
- Seven-year record
- 150 selected, 120 completed the programme and entered law school
- Current law students
- 84 scholars are still pursuing law, including 54 at National Law Universities
Quotes
Anshita Rani
NLSP scholar from Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, and final-year law student at National Law University, Jodhpur
“A candidate is expected to work through a 40-page paper in two hours, much of it built around lengthy English-language passages adapted from publications. For many of the students NLSP takes on, that presents a challenge long before the examination hall.”
indianexpress.com
“I had always wanted to do something where people would listen to what I had to say. When Anoop sir spoke about people from backgrounds like ours becoming leaders and shaping policy, it resonated with me.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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