To: Bar Council of India

Subject: Grant of Reliefs Pertaining to Existing Evaluation Scheme in Light

of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We, the law students of universities and colleges across India make this representation
before the esteemed Bar Council of India (hereinafter, ‘the BCI’), urgently seeking an
intervention and a grant of relief owing to the ailing healthcare in our country and the
direct consequences it has had on the student body.

Over the last few weeks, Indians have been battling a humanitarian crisis, with more than
4,00,000 instances daily, wherein almost every third person in our community has been
infected by the COVID-19 virus. An alarmingly high number of peers and loved ones are
currently suffering the effects of this deadly virus, resulting in additional roles of catering
to the sick family members. Although most universities and colleges have offered to grant
extensions to students who have tested positive, an alarming number of universities and
colleges have failed to respond to their ailing students seeking for reliefs in these dire
times. We, as a student body, believe the educational institutions have failed to address
the concerns faced by us in our time of need. Most of the relaxations given were
unsuccessful in reducing the burden, considering that the concerned student still had to
complete such an assessment. Further, considering the lack of testing facilities available,
most students with symptoms of this virus were not able to avail academic relaxations
and therefore, had to work on their submissions while battling this pernicious virus.

Various medical professionals, including Dr. Randeep Guleria, Chief of All India Institute
of Medical Sciences, stated that the medical system is taking a huge strain because of the
sheer number of people infected. To add onto this, the new ‘double mutant’ strain is such
that it does not get detected initially with the normal RT-PCR test, and to confirm the
same one has to go through a CT scan. Moreover, while the government has stated that
the strain has been detected in 10 states of India, the names of these states have not been
disclosed, which in turn has caused a large-scale panic. As a result of the lack of medical
infrastructure, most students in their individual capacities have also been engaging in
sharing and scavenging resources over social-media to help their loved ones in their
search for beds and donors, while simultaneously managing their academic
responsibilities.

This second wave has not only affected those who are infected with the virus, but others
who have had to bear the brunt of the same. Numerous students having different physical
ailments are unable to procure medicines or get the necessary treatment because the
hospitals are busy catering to people in the COVID ward. Moreover, there has been a
severe impact on the mental health of the students since the information that is currently
being consumed is on the lines of the number of COVID deaths. Crematoriums are
running out of space, so much so that many bodies are simply being burnt on the roads.
There is extreme anxiety and despair in the hearts of the student body owing to the bleak
future that stands in front of them.

Several students have been struggling to cope with the mental stress surrounding the
same, particularly those students who have been quarantining in abusive or unfavourable
households. Many have been enduring turmoil in their homes for over a year now, while
others are stuck inside the hospital fighting for dear life. So many of us have taken the
positions of our parents who are suffering from COVID: running errands, ensuring that
proper medical facilities are available, taking care of the household etc. Many members
of the student body have had to face problems of life and death while also having a
pressing deadline for an assessment. Further, numerous students have shared instances
wherein they have felt completely detached from the work they have been doing so far
and it has not become a situation wherein people submit assignments without learning
anything, which also defeats the purposes of conducting such examinations in the first
place.

As a result of the same, we request you to kindly consider the following suggestions and
extend the required relief to all students for this semester as well as for all subsequent
COVID semesters.

1. CANCELLATION OF END TERM ASSESSMENTS AND SCALING-UP

OF ALREADY CONDUCTED ASSESSMENTS:

It is seen that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which abruptly got worse in
March 2021, has adversely affected law students across the country. Students are in no
position to give time or energy to assessments. Considering the harrowing number of
students who have had to continue submitting their assessments while testing positive for
COVID19 or attending to family members who have tested positive, several concerns have
been raised regarding the quality of the assessments submitted hastily to avoid penalties
employed by the Administrations. The present evaluation mechanism overlooks the
mental and physical impact this pandemic has had on individuals, especially by expecting
them to perform with the same productivity they did before.

Particularly, a multitude of students were victims of adamant Administration decisions,

wherein end term components with little to no relaxations were expected to be submitted.

However, Rule 19 of Schedule III of the BCI Rules of Legal Education 2008 (hereinafter,
‘the BCI Education Rules’ or ‘Rules’) mandates universities and colleges to typically
conduct an end term component, and to submit the examination plan to the BCI. It is our
humble plea that the BCI cancel this mandatory component. Universities and colleges
that have conducted/ are in the process of conducting internal assessments should be
allowed to not conduct end term assessments. Instead, they should be allowed to scale up
the assessments that have already been conducted, so as to meet the total required graded
component.

Example 1: If a university has conducted one or two internal submissions before on a

scale of 50, students must be allowed to scale up the cumulative score of these internals
and be marked out of 100.

1.1 If a college or university has already completed its end term component before this
representation is made we propose that the option of scaling up assessments be provided
to them too. In such an instance, the student is free to retain their end term grade or to
scale up their internal assessments. This is to ensure that no student is disadvantaged
through this process.

1.2 ‘Special Cases’: We acknowledge that there are universities and colleges that have
not yet conducted mid term assessments or do not conduct any mid term assessments.

1.2.1 Universities and colleges that have not yet conducted mid term assessment should
be allowed to scale up the assessment as and when the assessment is conducted. These
assessments should be non-rigorous and should be spread over a relaxed timeline so that
students are not overburdened while having to complete the same.

1.2.2 Universities and colleges that do not conduct mid term assessment should
mandatorily conduct non-rigorous assessments spread over a relaxed timeline so that
students are not overburdened while having to complete these. The Administration in
these universities and colleges shall mandatorily give a minimum of twenty days notice
before conducting these assessments. Assessment for the leftover semester (i.e. January
2020 to May 2020) must take place through internal assessments. Such assessments
must be graded and based on properly framed questions. The assessment for each subject
concerned should be allotted a minimum of 6 days for completion, from the date of
notification of the assessment to the submission thereafter. The university
Administration should also be bound to announce the schedule of examination 20 days
prior to the commencement of examination.

2. ALTERATION OF EXISTING EVALUATION PLAN:

Over the last few weeks, hundreds of law students have expressed dissatisfaction with
their administrations on various social media platforms, wherein most universities and
colleges were unwilling to provide reliefs to their students and are hesitant to amend their
existing Evaluation Plan.

It is seen that although Rule 19 of Schedule III of the BCI Education Rules allows
universities and colleges to choose any assessment pattern that adheres to the Rules and
BCI Guidelines, most Administrations have resorted to suppressing the voices of their
student bodies by expressing that the BCI would be vehemently against the same. It is
seen that Rule 9 of the said Rules allows universities and colleges to amend their
Examination Rules and Evaluation Pattern if the need arises, as long as the amended
Rules and Evaluation Pattern are submitted to the BCI.
In light of the same, it is our humble request that the BCI issue a directive allowing
universities and colleges to amend their evaluation pattern to best suit the student
interests, so as to provide the reliefs to the students so as to significantly reduce the
academic pressures.

Example 1: If a university is conducting a mandatory 50 mark end term evaluation, in

order to provide the students with adequate reliefs, the university should amend this to
a lesser mark component and allow for relaxed deadlines to submit these evaluations.

3. CANCELLATION OF THE CURRENTLY DEFERRED END TERM

EXAMINATIONS:

The matter of how End-Semester examinations must be held, especially in a physical

offline format, must be reviewed urgently in light of the catastrophic effects of the ongoing
pandemic. It is to be noted that BCI Guidelines dt. 09.06.2020, mandate a University to
conduct offline or online examination for even Intermediate Batches. While it is true that
none of the signatory law schools have Physical Examinations, considering the current
disasters of our health infrastructure and the scarcity of all resources, even compulsory
online examinations pose a problem to students. It is necessary to acknowledge that not
all students are equally placed either economically or mentally under the current
circumstances, therefore, mandating the conduct of separate End-term components,
creates an unequal classification between those who have the capacity and resources for
writing an online exam and those who do not. Thereby, striking at the heart of the right
to equality under Art. 14.
The BCI Press Release dt. 01.11.2020 poses the alternative of a deferral of examinations,
to a later stage when the pandemic has subsided and university campuses have reopened.
Such an alternative is not sufficient and does not reflect the ongoing pandemic. Such an
alternative was posed keeping in mind the COVID circumstances in November and its
effects on a smaller section of the student community, in comparison to the current time.
Owing to the ongoing catastrophe and how most students across law schools are in the
position to not give an examination online or offline for this semester, the alternative of a
deferral is insufficient and does not help in providing a recourse to reduce the anxiety of
students. The Press Release was made in light of hoping that the Pandemic would subside
at an earlier stage, however as we are currently witnessing, the picture is beyond grim and
the matter of ‘when’ the pandemic will subside seems as a far-fetched reality. Hence, the
option of scaling a written component of Internal examinations must be allowed for law
schools and be provided as the alternative for the current situation. Allowing universities
to convert written component internals to externals will be beneficial to both the student,
faculty and administration members/communities at large, since this pandemic is
affecting all.
It is noted that the UGC Guidelines dated 6th July 2020 is limited for final years and the
BCI Press Release dt. 09.06.2020 read with the previous letter bearing no.
BCI:D:1401/2020, suggests that the End Semester component for final year can be
Online, however, nothing specifically bars the universities from including one online
written component that they have already presented in the same semester be taken as the
end semester component. Such a facility would be greatly beneficial for all students who
are physically and/or mentally not in the most learning conducive environments and
capacities to write a separate End-Semester examination.
The aforementioned press release read with the recent Order of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court in Praneet K and Ors. v UGC and Ors. [WP (Civil) No. 724 of 2020] makes end
term necessary only for the Final Year Students. Nothing in the above detailed authorities
mandate a strict separate End-Semester Examination for the other years. Guideline No.
4 from the BCI Press Release dt. 09.06.2020, suggests that it is only when a University
does not wish to conduct an End-term in the pandemic can choose to promote the
students based on previous years marks, however, in universities where all evaluations
have been taking place online, there would be no problem in considering one written
internal component as end term equivalent.
Therefore, we request that in a COVID semester, the BCI dispense with the requirement
of a strict separate end term component and enable Universities to consider one written
component from internal as sufficient for considering end term evaluation for students of
all years equally.

4. WAIVER OF EVIDENTIARY REQUIREMENTS FOR ACADEMIC

RELIEFS:

It is observed that where students have requested for academic reliefs such as deadline
extensions due to COVID-related emergencies, various evidentiary requirements are
imposed upon them to avail said reliefs. This policy assumes such evidence to be easily
accessible, and is manifestly unjust to those students who cannot access them for various
reasons.

4.1 Testing Lags: The massive rise in COVID-19 cases in the second wave has put severe
strain on the availability of RT-PCR test kits as well as the time taken to process the results
due to a manpower shortage. In several cities, test results from government-owned testing
labs take up to 10 days to reach patients. In this gap, the condition of the patient may
severely deteriorate.
However, due to the testing lag, students are unable to provide proof of their emergency
and avail necessary academic reliefs even though they may be in no condition to work.

4.2 False Negatives: It must be noted that RT-PCR tests can return false negatives in
cases where the sample was improperly taken, or the infection had progressed to the
lungs. However, the symptoms continue to persist and worsen. *insert point about
additional mental strain this causes, which further incapacitates one from working on
assignments*. In view of the possibility of false negatives, combined with the rapidity
with which the virus is spreading, patients with symptoms are advised by doctors to
consider themselves positive, regardless of the test result. Severely symptomatic patients
are also hospitalised for treatment without the requirement of a positive test.

For this reason, it is requested that the requirement of a positive RT-PCR test be waived
in the case of law school students requesting for academic reliefs as well.

Owing to the ongoing public health and humanitarian crisis, and the impact of the same
on the larger student community, we hope that the esteemed Bar Council of India can
consider our pleas and intervene on the matter.

The relaxations currently provided are wholly insufficient in the minds of the larger
student community, hence we seek the intervention of the BCI for greater relaxations to
be granted. We request you to peruse through the relaxations that we are suggesting, as
we strongly believe that these considerations will satisfy the concerns of law students all
over the country and provide them with adequate relief during these tumultuous times.

We thank the Bar Council of India for their concerted efforts and we hope that our plea is
given due consideration.

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Signatories:

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