New campus, courses, approach at MNLU Nagpur, says VC

The Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, has hit a growth spurt against the backdrop of policy changes recommended by the National Education Policy 2020. Vice-Chancellor Vijender Kumar spoke to Careers360 about the university’s expansion plans and the NEP 2020.

Q. What measures are NLUs taking to implement the NEP 2020?

A. The National Law Universities have been working as per the guidelines of the Bar Council of India and the University Grants Commission and have implemented their guidelines. Similarly, in the case of the recommendations of the National Education Policy, the National Law Universities are implementing the suggestions as per their vision and mission.

The NEP has placed focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of education. MNLU, Nagpur, has taken all the steps to ensure that the university is able to provide students with interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education. Moreover, the university, along with separate departments, has established 28 advanced centres for research in specific fields of study. These centres of excellence undertake cutting-edge research on contemporary socio-legal issues.

The Centre for Shastric Studies and Research in Law, Gender Justice, etc. were established with the vision to make MNLU, Nagpur, a University with a multidisciplinary approach.

Another aspect of the new policy has been [the emphasis] on clinical or practical education. The university has a dedicated ‘Legal Aid Centre’, where students are taught to help people in the nearby areas of the university which helps them understand social realities and the connection between law and society. The students are also given practical experiences as far as possible during their classes, especially in subjects like criminology, forensic science, mediation, and alternate dispute resolution. The NEP recommends teaching students in the local languages. Classroom lectures are in English but teachers use regional languages wherever required.

Q. Are you planning to launch more courses and in different disciplines?

A. Recently, the university launched a five-year B.A.LLB (Hons) in Adjudication and Justicing, the first of its kind in India. It aims to train students for the entry-level of the judiciary. The university will soon launch integrated BBA programme, LLB and also plan a number of diploma courses to promote multidisciplinary studies.

Q. Any further plans of expansion?

A. The National Law Universities are state universities of national character and the needs and visions of the states are important factors for expansion.

As far as MNLU-Nagpur is concerned, we are expanding every year. At present, the university is functioning from rented premises. The permanent campus, which will be inaugurated soon for the first phase of construction, is located at Waranga, Nagpur. It will have state-of-the-art facilities, student-centric academic and non-academic facilities and a barrier-free design. It will have residential facilities that will accommodate current and incoming students. The permanent campus will also have separate housing for research scholars. It will be the first university in the country to have a separate ‘third gender hostel’.

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