AILET 2020 test centres to be increased, fresh allotment of centres to start tomorrow after candidates air grievances

National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) has notified that the number of test centres for its All India Law Entrance Test (AILET 2020) has been increased by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Further, the test centre allotment process will also be reset, and recommence tomorrow morning. .The move follows complaints that candidates were not given an equal chance to choose centres that are proximate to their residence, partly due to a dearth of test centres, and partly owing to technical glitches. Students reported difficulties in choosing the centres available on a "first come first serve" basis while downloading admit cards. .A notification issued on Thursday by NLU Delhi acknowledges that there were technical and software problems, owing to which all candidates could not fairly choose test centres on a first-come-first-serve basis. .It was also noted that by the time the technical glitches were fixed, several candidates were deprived of their fair and equal chance..It is now intimated that the NTA has increased the number of seats at some of the centres, keeping in view the representations received from candidates on the issue. Notably, it has also been decided that the test allotment process would be reset as far as admit cards downloaded till 2 pm on September 18 are concerned. .The notification states, ."To give fair and equal chance to all the candidates for selection of City and Centre of Examination, it has been decided to cancel all the provisional admit cards downloaded by the candidates till 14:00 Hours 18.09.2020. Thus, the admit card downloaded till 18.09.2020 stand cancelled and will not be valid for appearing in AILET-2020. The system will be reset and shall be functional from 10.00 a.m. on 19.09.2020. and all the candidates are required to Select a Test Centre of their choice and download fresh admit cards from 10.00 a.m. on 19.09.2020 to 8:00 am on 21st September, on first come first serve basis. The Link, the Login ID & PW shall continue to be the same as was communicated by the NTA to all.".Read the Notification:.A disproportionate lack of test centres in the middle of a pandemic had put a number of candidates hoping to write AILET 2020 in a fix..The exam is due to be conducted on September 26, less than ten days away, and two days before the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2020) is scheduled to be conducted..AILET aspirants had found that they were being forced to pick test centres in far-off locations with little option but to risk the long journey, given that test centres were being allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis..As on Thursday, several students reported facing issues while logging in to download the admit cards..Technical glitches that hindered applicants from downloading the admit cards are now being resolved, some students informed. In a response to Bar & Bench, the University also stated that resolution of such technical glitches are underway, and likely to be resolved in two days' time. .Apart from being uncertain of whether the candidate will be able to reach the test centre at all amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the monetary burden for the long travel is also an issue, a student pointed out. .Moreover, as pointed out by a number of students, it would be difficult to travel long distances for the AILET 2020 exam without endangering their chances of making it back in time to write CLAT, which is scheduled for September 28. .As per an earlier notiifcation issued on September 16, there were 111 test centres allotted for AILET across India, in 64 cities. It is yet to be clarified how many additional testing centres would be set up by the NTA. In an emailed response made on Thursday evening, the NLU Delhi administration said that the test centres are now more than 115 across the country. .Notably, concern had also been raised that earlier, there was only one test centre for the whole of North East India at Gauhati. A candidate asked how students are expected to travel from all over the North East to Gauhati, at a time when there is no regular transportation. The candidate added that if sufficient centres cannot be provided, the University should at least allow candidates to withdraw from the exam..This aspect was also raised in an email sent by a group of AILET candidates to NLU Delhi and the NTA on Thursday. .In their email, which has also been viewed by Bar & Bench, the students had urged the authorities to address the technical issues, to provide test centres in preferred cities and to put in place a better communication and grievance redressal system. .In the alternative, the students had called on the authorities to allow them a refund of the AILET application fee..In response to an email from Bar & Bench, the NLU Delhi administration responded on Thursday evening, assuring that all technical issues would be resolved in two days’ time. Individual cases, if required, would be addressed separately for effective redressal, the administration added..The full response (dated September 17) reads as follows:“The AILET 2020 is remarkably diverse and widely accessible to the candidates. Being conducted with the most efficient partner, the National Testing Agency of the Govt of India, it has offered more than 115 Centres across 64 cities and 22 states in the country for about 19,900 candidates. One can well imagine the reach of AILET when compared with CLAT which for more than 78,000 students provided 67 cities and about 203 centres in the country. This clearly shows the diversity and ease of geographical access to the candidates by AILET. Moreover, this number is after following the guidelines social distance of the Government.So far as certain technical issues like downloading or change of centre or data mismatch are concerned, the team NTA is already working on it. We would be in a position to resolve all such grievances in matter of maximum two days. With this diversity and a large number of cities provided, the candidates should be able to travel to their respective CLAT centres after the AILET. The cases requiring special attention for want of several reasons will be addressed separately and individually for effective redressal.”