Patna, Jan. 5: Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) has come a long way and is now on the path of a steady growth after a humble beginning on August 15, 2006.

One of the dream projects of chief minister Nitish Kumar, the university was, in its nascent days, marred by a plethora of problems, ranging from inadequate teachers and staff to poor infrastructure facilities and placement records.

But in the past year, the situation at the premier law institute started to improve. From being selected as judicial clerks in the Supreme Court to excelling in legal and parliamentary debates at other law universities, CNLU students have set a high standard for themselves.

CNLU, which is the only law university in Bihar and the 10th national law university in the country, offers integrated five-year degree course in law (honours). The institute had initially started functioning from AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies and got its own campus in 2010. However, the university was in the news for the wrong reasons in April last year when its final-year students resorted to agitation and even staged a hunger strike seeking placements.

CNLU vice-chancellor A. Lakshminath said: “We had to face some problems in the early half of 2011 because many companies and law firms were reluctant to visit the campus of a new institute for hiring. But the situation has started improving this year. Many final-year students of the second batch have got job offers from law firms and companies, though the placement will formally begin in February or March.”

Pangea3, a Mumbai-based law processed outsourcing firm, has offered three students of the university an annual package of Rs 7.2 lakh. At the same time, four students have been selected as judicial clerks in the apex court. A judicial clerk’s job is to assist judges in the Supreme Court.

“Fifteen students from various law universities across the country were selected for the post of judicial clerks in the Supreme Court this year. Of them, four are our students. This is a matter of pride for a new institute like CNLU,” Lakshminath said.

Besides, legal firms such as the New Delhi branch of ALMT Legal, Calcutta-based Argus Partners, Jurists & Jurists and Trilegal and law journal All India Reporter have agreed to visit CNLU for campus recruitment this year.

The VC said the university had arranged winter internships for its students from the first week of December, 2011. He added that most of the students opted for availing the internship in metros and other big cities instead of going home during the vacation.

Education minister P.K. Shahi said like any new institution, CNLU would also take time to grow. He added: “The university has decided to add more subjects to its curricula and introduce a diploma course in law. It has signed a number of deals with various other universities and there is a possibility for a tie-up with some foreign university for academic excellence.”

A fourth-year student of CNLU said on condition of anonymity: “We have seen many positive changes in the CNLU administration in the last year when 16 permanent faculty members joined the university.”

Earlier, most of the teachers were attached to the institute on an adhoc basis or were visiting faculty members — the exception being the VC and a few permanent teachers.

The student added that there has been a paradigm shift in the teaching process, too. “From conventional classroom coaching, the university has shifted to the interactive teaching mode and introduced moot court practices, debates and discussions. The faculty are more interested in teaching the pupils through discussions, instead of remaining confined to conventional classroom teaching,” he said.

The student feels that the shift was a result of following moot court practices and the pupils’ participation in debates and discussions. Incidentally, CNLU students have excelled in various moot court competitions held in other universities.

They finished first in a moot court competition at Campus Law Centre, Delhi University, held in November.

The students also reached the semi-finals of the International Moot Court Competition held at Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow.

Students from premier law universities such as National Law School of India University (Bangalore), National Law University (Bhopal), Nalsar University of Law (Hyderabad), West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (Calcutta) and Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (Lucknow) had taken part in both the competitions.

Lakshminath said the university has, in its effort to compete with other premier law universities in the country, invited some distinguished personalities from the legal fraternity for being attached to the institute as visiting faculty members. Some of the personalities who have been invited are Press Council of India chairman and former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju, National Judicial Academy director KNC Pillai and Madhava Menon, who was instrumental in setting up National Law School of India University.

The admission for CNLU is done through Common Law Admission Test. Moreover, based on the Bar Council of India’s recommendations, there was an admission of 140 students this year, an increase from the existing 80 seats.