Getting Into NLU After CLAT? Here Are Some Popular Scholarships

Twenty-two out of 23 National Law Universities (NLUs) have over 2,800 seats in undergraduate law programmes and admission is through a national-level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Most NLUs seek to provide affordable and meaningful legal education in India.

However, the course fees of a five-year integrated LLB works out to around Rs 10-12 lakh, sometimes even beyond Rs 15 Lakh. It is a major barrier for students who come from lower and middle-income families. Such high cost not only makes formal legal education exclusionary but also affects student diversity and access to legal education adversely.

This Story also Contains

1. Why Do NLUs Charge High Fees?
2. Centrally-Sponsored Scholarships
3. Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for Law Students
4. NEC Merit Scholarship
5. Scholarships offered by State Governments
6. HNLU Raipur (Image: Official Website)
7. Private scholarships
8. NLUs Scholarships, Financial Aid Programmes
9. Financial aid programmes other than scholarships

To mitigate this, some NLUs offer scholarships and financial aid programmes. Some external scholarships are also offered by governments and private organizations. In this article, we take a look at the scholarships that can make legal education affordable for students at some of the top school schools in the country.

Why Do NLUs Charge High Fees?

Unlike Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) or Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), which are entirely centrally-funded, the NLUs’ status is more complicated. Although envisioned as “national institutions”, they were set up under state laws and are, therefore, state government entities, largely dependent on grants released by the respective state governments. But, for most of the NLUs, the state funding is not generous enough for raising the standards of legal education. As a result, to meet the administrative costs, and maintain infrastructure, and services, most NLUs charge high tuition fees from students. This also leaves little scope for universities to sponsor scholarships from their own funds. This is why only a few NLUs offer scholarships and financial aid programmes.

Centrally-Sponsored Scholarships

Government of India (GoI) offers scholarships to students who belong to marginalised castes or who fulfil certain merit criteria. The central government has a common portal for facilitating the process – the National Scholarship Portal. Students, based on their caste or category and annual income, can choose the scholarships. Some of the centrally-sponsored popular scholarships are given below.

Top Class Education Scheme for SC Students

The scholarship scheme is offered by the ministry of social justice and empowerment. It is available to all Scheduled Caste (SC) students pursuing a five-year LLB programme at any of the NLUs.

Important Details

Selected candidates get the fund immediately after admission and start of classes. The entire scholarship amount including the tuition fee, other non-refundable charges and academic allowance is transferred directly to the students by the government through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode.

Eligibility

The candidate must fulfil these requirements:

• The annual income of the student, from all sources should not be more than Rs 8 lakh per annum.
• For each NLU, a fixed number of slots (scholarships) are available. In case applicants are in excess of the available slots, they will be shortlisted based on their CLAT rank.

Funding pattern

1. Full tuition fee and non-refundable charges
2. Academic allowance of Rs. 86,000 in the first year of study and Rs. 41,000 in every subsequent year, to take care of living expenses, books and stationery, computer or laptop of reputed brand with accessories like UPS and printer.

Number Of Slots

Under this scheme, a total of 78 scholarships are offered to law students out of which 69 slots are offered to students pursuing law from any of the national law universities. The remaining nine slots are offered to students of ILS Law College, Mumbai, Symbiosis Law School, Pune and OP Jindal Law School, Sonipat.

Law School Scholarship Slots

NLIU Bhopal (Image: Official website)

Top Class Education for ST Students Scholarships

It is offered by the ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) to Schedule Tribe (ST) students. The scheme supports the student through the course, provided they continue to do well. It covers tuition fees, boarding and lodging expenses, book grant and a one-time grant for the purchase of a computer (along with its accessories).

Eligibility

1. Students must be from ST category
2. The total family income of the student should not exceed Rs 2 lakh per annum.
3. The scholarship will be terminated if the student fails to pass the final examination of each year or any terminal examination prescribed.

Funding Pattern

The scholarship is completely funded by MoTA. The details of the scholarships are given below.

1. Full tuition fee and other non-refundable dues.
2. Rs 2200 per month for living expenses
3. Rs 3000 per annum for books and stationery
4. A one-time grant of Rs 45,000 for a computer

Total Number Of Scholarships Offered

A total of 67 scholarships are offered under the scheme for Law programmes, including LLB, LLM, and LLD, out of which 60 scholarships are offered in notified National Law Universities. Remaining sever scholarships are offered in Symbiosis Law School, Pune and ILS Law College, Pune.

ST Scholarship Slots At Law Schools

*Not part of Consortium of National Law Universities

Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for Law Students

The scheme is implemented by the department of higher education, ministry of education (MoE). It provides financial assistance to the meritorious students, to meet a part of their day-to-day expenses while pursuing higher studies.

Eligibility

1. Students should have secured above 80% in the relevant stream in Class 12.
2. Having a family income of less than Rs 6 lakh per annum.
3. Not receiving any other scholarship

Students who fulfil the eligibility criteria can apply for the scholarship by registering at the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).

Funding Pattern

1. Rs 10,000 per annum at the graduation level for first 3 years.
2. Rs 20,000 per annum at postgraduate level (LLM courses).
3. Students pursuing professional courses are paid Rs 20,000 per annum in the 4th and 5th year.

The Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships (CSSS) is renewed on a year on year basis, up to a maximum of five years. The renewal of the scholarship is subject to the student meeting certain conditions such as performance in two preceding semesters or annual examination, an attendance level of at least 75 %, and maintenance of discipline.

NEC Merit Scholarship

The North Eastern Council, ministry of development of north eastern region (MoDNER) offers NEC Merit Scholarship to meritorious students from north-eastern states. Every year, 1,000 students from eight north eastern states are selected for degree courses which also include integrated LLB. The scholarship is provided at the commencement of the course and renewal is allowed for the subsequent years.

Eligibility

• The student must be a permanent resident of north-east region
• Should have secured at least 60% marks in Class 12
• Should not have received any other scholarship or financial assistance
• Family’s annual income should not exceed Rs 8 lakh

Funding Pattern

The scholarship amounts are revised from time to time, The present rate of scholarship for the undergraduate degree level is Rs 20,000 per annum.

Scholarships offered by State Governments

Most state governments offer post-matric scholarships to the students pursuing higher education after Class 12. Students can check the scholarship portal of their respective state governments to know about the application dates and eligibility for availing of the scholarship. Some popular scholarships offered by state governments are given below.

HNLU Raipur (Image: Official Website)

Private scholarships

There are a few private scholarships that cover academic fees as well as hostel fees. Among the most popular scholarships are Aditya Birla Scholarship and IDIA sponsorship.

Aditya Birla Group Scholarship for CLAT Rank-Holders

The Aditya Birla Group Scholarships are widely popular for they are offered to students pursuing a wide range of courses. In the legal stream, the Aditya Birla Group offers Rs 1,80,000 per annum, or the actual course fees, whichever is lower. Once sanctioned, it will continue till the completion of the course.

Eligibility

1. The Aditya Birla Group Scholarship is offered to the students who take admission in any of the following five national law universities:

• NLSIU Bangalore
• NALSAR University of Law Hyderabad
• WB NUJS Kolkata
• NLU Jodhpur
• GNLU Gandhinagar

2. Students should have secured a CLAT rank in the top 20 in their national law university.

Selection

Students who meet the criteria can submit the filled-in application form to their dean dean. A total of 100 applications, 20 from each of the five NLUs, are accepted for the selection process which involves three rounds – selection on the basis of the application form and an overall assessment of both academic and co-curricular achievements; rounds two involves essays; and round three is the interview rounds. Finally, eight students are selected to be the Aditya Birla Scholars.

The interviews are held in Mumbai for which students are provided with accommodation, transportation reimbursement, and a token allowance.

The renewal of scholarship is annual and based on the students’ performance.

IDIA Funding

Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA) Charitable Trust was founded by the late Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer. It not only prepares socially and economically disadvantaged students during their CLAT preparation but also helps them secure scholarships and funds for studying in NLUs.

NLUs Scholarships, Financial Aid Programmes

The NLUs offer scholarships on the basis of merit as well as economic considerations. In most of the NLUs, the annual family income of Rs 8 lakh is the bar for shortlisting students for means-based scholarships. CLAT rank, performance in Class 12 and annual and semester examination are also factors.

Scholarships Offered By NLUs

*Not part of Consortium of National Law Universities

Financial aid programmes other than scholarships

Some NLUs run financial aid programmes to offer assistance in the form of a grant of a certain sum of money as a loan, fee waivers and exemptions, loan interest payments and stipends to cover living expenses. To know about the financial aid programmes or schemes, students can contact the admission office of their respective NLU at the time of admission. The State Bank of India (SBI) also offers student loans under the “Scholar Loan Scheme” to the students of NLU Delhi, NLSIU Bengaluru and NLU Jodhpur.