KOCHI: At a time the state government is placing an onus on improving the higher education system, it comes as a shock that all four government law colleges in Kerala lack functioning placement cells. Students have been taking up the issue with the respective college principals, but they are being turned back citing technicalities.
According to a student of the Government Law College in Thrissur, when we ask our teachers as to whether we have a placement cell or office in the college, we are told we do.
A student of the Government Law College in Thrissur told TNIE that teachers reply in the affirmative when students enquire if there is a placement cell or office in the college.
“But when we ask them where it is located, they direct us to a room which remains closed with cobwebs hanging on the door frame and a name board proclaiming it to be the said office,” said the student who did not want to be named.
When asked whether they had taken the matter up with the authorities concerned, the student said, “They have been doing it time and again. Recently, when we approached the principal raising the issue, we were told that the office has not been functioning because of some technical issues.”
However, the principal did not give any details as to what these technical issues pertain to, said another student.
The same is the case with the other three government law colleges, said a second-year student of the Government Law College in Kochi.
“We too have a placement office. But it remains non-functional to date,” he said.
According to the student, some teachers at the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram are doing something in that direction on a personal level.
“But nothing is happening through the placement cell.”
One of the issues being pointed out by lawyers who have passed out of these colleges is the lack of visibility for the institutions in the market.
“Why would the big companies in big cities come looking for employees when they get everything near them? So, if we want our students to get any chance, our colleges need to increase their visibility. And that can be done only through programmes that will have representatives of these corporate companies in attendance,” said T J Chackanad, a lawyer.
He said there has never been a culture of placements in the state’s law colleges.
“This is true in the case of many law colleges owned by private managements too. However, that should not be taken as an excuse. We need to take this issue up for wider discussions at the government level,” he said.
Students point out that prestigious institutions, like law universities, have such a facility. “Yes, they do,” said the lawyer.
Until recently, it could be seen that most of the students were satisfied with getting a junior position with any well-known senior lawyer, he said.
“Also, we don’t have the culture of big law firms like in the metro cities. But the new crop of students want more and we need to cater to their demands. Law education needs more proactiveness on the part of the colleges,” the lawyer added.
Meanwhile, the principals of the government law colleges were unavailable for comment.