NIRF Data: Student Admissions And Diversity Analysis Of Law Schools Across India

aditi.narendraUpdated on 07 Nov 2023, 05:20 PM IST

Among all these top law colleges, student admissions increased by over 36 per cent, that is a total of 21,205 students in the last three years. Also the percentage of international students and female students sharply increased in the same time frame. As per the NIRF 2023 report of law colleges, The National Law School of India University in Bengaluru ranked at first position, while the National Law University, New Delhi maintained its second position.NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad which missed the third rank in 2022, regained its spot in 2023.

NIRF Data: Student Admissions And Diversity Analysis Of Law Schools Across India

The Law Schools In India (Source: Shutterstock)

To get admission in any of the colleges mentioned above or at any of the 30 ranked institutions by the NIRF, law college aspirants must first clear Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).

In this article, Careers360 explores CLAT and other law entrance exams that law aspirants usually take. We have also presented a detailed analysis of intake numbers over the last three years. In this analysis you will find information on the number of available seats in each college for the five-year undergraduate law programme. The student pool at these law colleges includes domestic students, international students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and those from socially backward sections as well.

It is important to note that many institutes were not ranked in NIRF ranking in 2021 and 2022. Due to this reason, data of those two years is not available.

Admission Process

CLAT is a nationwide entrance exam used for admission to 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. Some private and self-financed law schools also consider CLAT scores for admissions. A few other law schools conduct their separate entrance tests to admit students. Out of 23 NLUs, only NLU Delhi conducts its unique entrance exam known as the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) for admission.

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur are part of the top 30 law institutes ranked by NIRF in 2023, but have been excluded from this analysis because they do not offer a five years of undergraduate programme.

Also Read-Placement Analysis of Law Colleges In Western And Central India

The table below lists the top 30 ranked colleges as per NIRF 2023 and the entrance exams they use for admissions.

Top 30 Law College And Their Entrance Exam

NIRF 2023 rank	College Name	Admission through
1	National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	CLAT
2	National Law University, New Delhi	AILET
3	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	CLAT
4	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	CLAT
5	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	JMI Law Entrance Exam
6	Symbiosis Law School, Pune	SET Law
7	Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	CLAT
8	Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	CUET, JMI Entrance Exam
9	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	IIT Kharagpur LLB Entrance Exam 2023
10	Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow	CUET
11	Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai	CLAT/ LSAT
12	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar	KIITEE
13	Christ University, Bengaluru	CLAT
14	Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh	CUET & AMU Entrance Exam
15	Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur	CLAT
16	Lovely Professional University, Phagwara	CLAT, LSAT India, LPU NEST
17	Indian Law Institute, New Delhi	ILICAT
18	National Law Institute University, Bhopal	CLAT
19	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi	CLAT
20	The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala	CLAT
21	Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	CLAT
22	Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	CUET
23	Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon	Amity Written exam and Interview, Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test (IPU CET)
24	National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi	CLAT
25	Alliance University, Bengaluru	ACLAT
26	Army Institute of Law, Mohali	AIL LET
27	Nirma University, Ahmedabad Gujarat	CLAT
28	National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	CLAT
29	Manipal University Jaipur	MAHE Entrance Test
30	National Law University, Cuttack	CLAT

Students Enrollment: OverThe Last Three Years

Around 21,205 students were enrolled across the below listed top law schools across the country which offer the five years of undergraduate law programme. The enrollment number increased more than 36 per cent during the three-year period.

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi had decreased the enrolled students more than eight per cent over the previous three years. Symbiosis Law School, Pune and The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala had also decreased the number of enrolled students 6.82 and five per cent respectively over the same period. This is the highest drop in the student admissions among these colleges.

Colleges like Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, Christ University, Bengaluru and National Law University, New Delhi have been consistent with their admission numbers. This shows their demand among the students is constant.

Symbiosis Law School, Pune admitted the maximum number of students among all 30 colleges among all the three years. This number however was highest among all institutes over the last three years.

In the analysis, we have only included colleges that offer a five-year undergraduate law degree. Therefore, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT KGP),

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow and the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, are not included in the list. IIT KGP has a three-year undergraduate programme while the other two provide two-year postgraduate programmes in law.

Also Read-NIRF 2023: Placements Analysis Of Law Colleges Across North India

The values provided in the list below represent the number of students admitted during the academic sessions of 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.

Total Actual Student Strength (Programme/s offered by institutions over the last three years)

College Name	2023	2022	2021
National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	496	460	424
National Law University, New Delhi	528	468	415
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	651	618	611
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	655	630	629
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	315	310	346
Symbiosis Law School, Pune	1515	1498	1626
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	969	943	905
Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	921	788	Not ranked
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai	1048	940	809
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar	1374	1352	1347
Christ University, Bengaluru	2040	1776	1587
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh	1099	1051	1002
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur	741	750	697
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara	434	396	360
National Law Institute University, Bhopal	604	593	594
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi	556	630	501
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala	893	893	940
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	888	874	865
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	300	361	328
Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon	453	496	not ranked
National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi	603	575	not ranked
Alliance University, Bengaluru	623	Not ranked	Not ranked
Army Institute of Law, Mohali	420	397	399
Nirma University, Ahmedabad Gujarat	1224	Not ranked	Not ranked
National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	295	300	300
Manipal University Jaipur	665	not ranked	not ranked
National Law University, Cuttack	895	888	829
	21205	17987	15514

Gender Diversity

In the year 2023, the overall female participation was near about 48 per cent which has increased by more than two per cent over the last three years. Among all these top law institutes Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur remained the top in terms of highest percentage of female students. While National Law School of India University, Bengaluru remained lowest for the female students.

The percentage of female candidates in Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi has drastically dropped down by 10 per cent over the last three years, along with this around 13 law institutes female participation has decreased during the same period of time.

Female Participation Over The Last Three Years (In%)

College Name	2023	2022	2021
National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	36.09	34.13	35.61
National Law University, New Delhi	39.02	39.53	40.24
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	43.47	42.07	40.10
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	37.10	37.14	36.88
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	51.43	48.06	39.31
Symbiosis Law School, Pune	55.18	56.07	56.09
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	43.24	42.52	41.99
Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	57.76	61.80	Not ranked
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai	48.57	47.87	49.20
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar	55.09	54.36	53.45
Christ University, Bengaluru	45.88	46.85	45.75
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh	35.76	34.82	34.03
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur	66.67	65.33	64.13
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara	54.38	52.53	53.06
National Law Institute University, Bhopal	49.67	49.75	47.64
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi	42.27	43.17	42.91
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala	43.67	39.87	38.72
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	39.98	39.02	38.73
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	40.00	32.41	30.79
Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon	39.96	40.52	not ranked
National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi	45.44	43.65	not ranked
Alliance University, Bengaluru	49.60	Not ranked	Not ranked
Army Institute of Law, Mohali	63.57	57.68	57.39
Nirma University, Ahmedabad Gujarat	52.61	Not ranked	Not ranked
National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	43.73	43.67	41.00
Manipal University Jaipur	47.97	not ranked	not ranked
National Law University, Cuttack	46.48	46.17	44.75

Also Read-NIRF 2023: In-Depth Analysis of Private Management Institutes Accepting CAT Scores

Foreign Students In Top Law Colleges

Around eight colleges had not a single foreign student among all the undergraduates in 2023. Top 10 colleges had increased the number of foreign students in the undergraduates programme over the last three years. In 2023, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara had the highest percentage enrollment of international students.

The below table shows the percentage of foreign students in each college in the year 2023.

Foreign Students In Top Law Colleges In 2023 (in %)

College Name	%age Of Foreign Students
National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	3.43
National Law University, New Delhi	6.82
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	11.67
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	11.15
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	8.57
Symbiosis Law School, Pune	10.69
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	0.41
Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	0.33
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai	0.48
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar	1.38
Christ University, Bengaluru	0.44
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh	0.45
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur	0.00
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara	14.06
National Law Institute University, Bhopal	0.00
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi	0.72
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala	0.78
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	0.00
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	4.00
Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon	0.22
National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi	0.00
Alliance University, Bengaluru	0.48
Army Institute of Law, Mohali	0.00
Nirma University, Ahmedabad Gujarat	0.00
National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	0.00
Manipal University Jaipur	0.00
National Law University, Cuttack	0.78

EWS And Socially Challenged Students

Colleges have some reservation for students from SC/ST and OBC students. Out of all the colleges below, seven colleges had not a single seat for Economically Backward class students. Army Institute of Law, Mohali colleges did not have any students from both the categories.

More than 91 per cent of the students of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi belong to the Economically Backward class or the Socially Challenged background, with 8.57 percent of the students from abroad.

Students from Economically Backward and Socially Challenged Backgrounds in 2023 (In %)

College Name	%age Of EWS	%age OF Socially Backward
National Law School of India University, Bengaluru	19.76	24.40
National Law University, New Delhi	4.17	27.65
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad	8.60	21.04
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata	0.00	23.66
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi	78.41	12.70
Symbiosis Law School, Pune	5.21	13.99
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar	7.33	25.39
Siksha `O` Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar	3.69	12.49
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai	6.97	44.75
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar	0.00	17.90
Christ University, Bengaluru	11.72	8.04
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh	3.18	17.47
Shanmugha Arts Science Technology & Research Academy, Thanjavur	6.07	16.06
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara	14.75	16.13
National Law Institute University, Bhopal	5.30	35.10
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi	0.18	40.83
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala	1.01	20.49
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow	0.00	44.37
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	10.00	49.33
Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon	0.00	26.49
National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi	3.15	45.11
Alliance University, Bengaluru	0.00	37.08
Army Institute of Law, Mohali	0.00	0.00
Nirma University, Ahmedabad Gujarat	9.56	1.88
National Law University and Judicial Academy, Kamrup	0.00	27.12
Manipal University Jaipur	3.01	2.26
National Law University, Cuttack	0.00	13.74

Overall the number of students enrolled for the last session has increased in 17.89 per cent from the previous years. More colleges now have foreign students than the previous year too. Our analysis reveals the multifaceted nature of India's top law schools. The legal education landscape is evolving at a remarkable pace as they expand their horizons and welcome more students. This transformation isn't limited to numbers alone, as gender diversity, foreign student enrollment, and support for economically disadvantaged and socially challenged students play a pivotal role in shaping the legal fraternity of the future.

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