By IANS,
New Delhi : Students at the Faculty of Law in Delhi University can now study the latest cases of the high court and Supreme Court as part of their curriculum.
Whether it’s the issue of reservation for other backward classes, the Zee Telefilms versus BCCI case over match telecast rights, the Right to Information Act, or shutdowns called by political parties being unconstitutional – their syllabus has it all.
“Our aim is to teach our students of law the way it ought to be. Unlike many other law institutes, we believe in keeping our students abreast of the latest happenings. That’s why we have started updating our syllabi every semester,” S.N. Singh, dean of the Faculty of Law, told IANS.
“We started updating our curriculum only since July last year, after I joined as the dean. Before that I was heading the Law Centre in Dhaula Kuan in south Delhi where I had incorporated similar changes. When I came here, I decided to bring those changes along with me,” he said.
Two of the latest courses that have been introduced in the curriculum are Competition Law and Business Regulation.
“We have a chapter on minority educational institutions and the technicalities which are necessary to make one. We also have a section on the property rights of women wherein natural justice has been awarded,” Singh said.
And if the curriculum is updated, it’s only natural that question papers will be set in accordance – to test a student’s knowledge of what is happening in the world around him or her.
“An important judgment was due April 10 this year, but our examination question papers are set in February-March. Therefore we decided to set questions in such a way that it tested the students’ knowledge of that judgement and how they implement the theory of the laws in their answers,” he said.
Singh also said they have been compiling a selection of leading high profile cases and distributing them among students, both at the LLB (graduation) and the LLM (post graduation) level, as an exercise.
And what do the students feel about these changes?
“A welcome change!” said Surinder Khagnot, a student at the Faculty of Law.
“Instead of only memorising theories and laws, it’s interesting to learn about the latest cases and discuss them with our teachers in class. In simple language, we connect more to our studies now,” he said.
Added Anita Vatsya, another student: “We read the newspaper every day and then follow up cases in the classroom amid excited and heated discussions. An up-to-date syllabus keeps our knowledge updated, makes us more aware and will ultimately help in the long run”.