Kerala: Placement cells are not working in law colleges of Kerala

Kochi: At a time when the state government is taking up the responsibility of reforming the higher education system, it is a shock that all four government law colleges in Kerala lack placement cells. Students are raising this issue with the concerned college principals, but they are being turned away citing technicalities.

According to a student of Government Law College, Thrissur, when we ask our teachers if we have a placement cell or office in the college, we are told that there is.

A student at a government law college in Thrissur told TNIE that when students ask if there is a placement cell or office in the college, teachers respond in the affirmative.

“But when we ask them where it is located, they take us to a room hung with cobwebs on the door frame and a name board declaring it to be the said office, ” said the student, who did not want to give his name. ,

Asked if he had taken up the matter with the authorities concerned, the student said, “They have been doing this again and again. Recently, when we contacted the principal raising this issue, we were told that the office is not functioning due to some technical issues.

However, the principal did not give any details about what these technical issues were related to, another student said.

The situation is similar in other three government law colleges, said a second-year student of Government Law College, Kochi.

“We also have a placement office. But it remains non-functional till date,” he said.

According to the student, some teachers in the Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram are doing something in that direction at the individual level.

“But nothing is happening through the placement cell.”

One of the issues being pointed out by lawyers graduating from these colleges is the lack of visibility of the institutions in the market.

“Why would big companies come to big cities looking for employees when they have everything available to them? So, if we want our students to stand a chance, our colleges need to increase their visibility. And this can be done only through programs in which representatives of these corporate companies will be present,” said lawyer TJ Chakkanad.

He said that there has never been a culture of placement in the law colleges of the state.

“This is also true in the case of many law colleges owned by private management. However, this should not be taken as an excuse. We need to raise this issue for broader discussion at the government level,” he said.

Students say that such facilities are available in prestigious institutions like Law University. “Yes, they do,” said the lawyer.

He said, till recently it could be seen that most of the students were satisfied with getting a junior position with any well-known senior lawyer.

“Also, we do not have the culture of big law firms like in metro cities. But the new generation of students wants more and we need to meet their demands. The lawyer said, “There is a need for more proactivity from the colleges for law education.”

Meanwhile, principals of government law colleges were not available for comment.