NLU Meghalaya VC: ‘CLAT-only admissions from 2027 will ensure diversity in classroom’

National Law University (NLU) Meghalaya is broadening its academic and research focus in different areas, including indigenous law, constitutional governance, AI, cyber law as well as emerging fields like space law with an emphasis on developing an institution rooted in the Northeast, but with a national and international perspective. In an email interaction with Careers360, Jyoti Jajodia Mozika, Vice Chancellor, NLU Meghalaya, speaks about the university’s vision, admission policy, interdisciplinary programmes, research and placement plans, and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation:

What are your priorities as VC of NLU Meghalaya, and what would you like the university to achieve during your tenure?

My foremost priority is to build NLU Meghalaya into a distinctive institution of academic and research excellence, with a strong identity rooted in Meghalaya and the Northeast but with a national and international outlook. We focus on strengthening governance, attracting and retaining quality faculty and students, developing research, improving student placements, and creating a modern permanent campus. We also want to strengthen our library, moot court facilities, digital infrastructure, student wellness and sports facilities.

We will develop research in areas where NLU Meghalaya can make a distinctive contribution, including constitutional governance, the sixth schedule, tribal customary and indigenous law, environmental law and climate change, AI and law , cyber law , border studies, and human rights. I would also like NLU Meghalaya to become a centre for executive and continuing legal education and dispute resolution through the proposed Shillong Arbitration Centre. My larger aspiration is to build an institution of enduring national significance and, over time, position NLU Meghalaya among India's leading law universities.

Also read ‘Hacker’s bent of mind’: IIT Kanpur, Madras B.Cybersecurity course to train ‘cyber warriors’, says in-charge

What, in your view, are the biggest challenges facing legal education in the Northeast, and how can NLU Meghalaya help address them?

One key challenge is ensuring access to high-quality legal education while creating opportunities for students and faculty to engage with national and international academic and professional networks. Issues relating to the Sixth Schedule [concerning the administration of tribal areas in the Northeast], customary and indigenous laws, environmental protection, border governance, human rights, and constitutional institutions deserve sustained research. NLU Meghalaya can contribute by becoming a platform for rigorous scholarship on these subjects and by bringing regional perspectives into national legal discourse.

At the same time, we must attract talented faculty and students from across India, strengthen institutional collaborations and provide students with opportunities for exchanges, internships and professional exposure. Our objective is not to build a university rooted in the Northeast but connected to India and the world.

NLU Meghalaya has a School of Traditional, Customary and Indigenous Law and another on outer space law. What activities do the schools undertake?

The School of Traditional, Customary and Indigenous Law focuses on the customary and indigenous legal traditions of Meghalaya and the Northeast, and their relationship with constitutional and statutory law. The Sixth Schedule, indigenous rights, customary institutions and contemporary governance are important areas of study and research.

Also read UGC control, scholar attacks, sackings: India’s academic freedom ‘severely restricted’ in 2026, says SAR

The school dealing with outer space law reflects our focus on newer areas of legal education. Space activities raise questions around regulation, liability, commercialisation, technology and international cooperation. Through these schools, we are looking at both the region's distinctive legal traditions and new areas of law shaped by technological and global developments.

How can the university balance national-level legal education with the region's social and cultural context?

I believe the two objectives complement each other rather than compete. NLU Meghalaya must maintain the academic standards expected of a national law university while drawing intellectual strength from its location. We want students from Meghalaya and the Northeast to have access to national and international opportunities, while students coming from other parts of India should have an opportunity to understand the region.

Our philosophy is therefore simple: we want to be locally-rooted, nationally-relevant and internationally-connected. That balance can become one of NLU Meghalaya's greatest academic strengths.

The university has introduced BSc LLB and BBA LLB degrees in areas such as data science and FinTech. Are these popular? What jobs would graduates get?

These interdisciplinary programmes respond to the changing nature of the legal profession. Law increasingly intersects with technology, finance, business and data, and tomorrow's lawyers will need an understanding of these fields. The BSc LLB programme, with exposure to areas such as data science, can open pathways in areas such as technology regulation, data protection and privacy, cyber law, artificial intelligence and digital governance.

The BBA LLB programme and its exposure to areas such as FinTech can be relevant to corporate legal practice, financial institutions, regulatory and compliance functions, FinTech companies, consulting and policy work. I would, however, view these programmes not merely in terms of immediate employment opportunities; rather, their larger purpose is to equip students with interdisciplinary skills for a rapidly-changing legal and professional environment.

The Bar Council of India has recently intensified inspections and scrutiny of law colleges, including infrastructure, faculty and academic standards. Where are we and what more should be done to improve the quality of legal education in India?

Quality legal education requires more than meeting minimum regulatory requirements. It requires good faculty, contemporary curricula, meaningful research, strong libraries and digital resources, clinical education, internships, mentoring, and exposure to the profession. We need to move towards a culture of continuous quality improvement.

Also read The Bar Council of India problem: Why legal education needs reform at the top

At NLU Meghalaya , our approach includes strengthening faculty recruitment, encouraging visiting professors and active collaboration with the judiciary, providing research support and promoting faculty exchange. We also want to develop focused research centres and encourage externally-funded research and policy engagement. Ultimately, the test of legal education is not simply whether students pass examinations and get recruited. It is whether they develop sound legal knowledge, analytical ability, professional competence, ethical responsibility and a commitment to public service.

NLU Meghalaya has reserved 50% of its undergraduate seats for Meghalaya-domicile students, who are admitted through the MEG-UAT, while non-domicile students are admitted through CLAT. Do you see this dual admission model as an effective way of improving access?

The dual admission model was followed for the initial four years to improve regional access while ensuring national integration. The 50% reservation for Meghalaya-domiciled students provides access to quality legal education. From the 2027 academic session , we have introduced a single admission mode through CLAT [Common Law Admission Test], in line with other national law universities under the Consortium of NLUs. This can create a diverse classroom where students from different regions and backgrounds learn from one another. Our responsibility is to ensure that the process remains transparent and academically meaningful while promoting diversity and equal opportunity.

Also read CLAT Exam Reform: 3-section paper; scrap GK, current affairs; outsource but not to NTA, suggests NLU panel

What are the university's plans for strengthening faculty recruitment, research and collaborations with institutions within and outside the Northeast?

A young university like ours has the opportunity to create a strong academic culture. Faculty recruitment and retention are therefore among our highest priorities. We intend to strengthen regular recruitment while bringing in visiting professors, distinguished academics and judicial scholars. Research seed grants, faculty exchange and other forms of academic support will also be important.

Our research agenda will focus on areas including constitutional governance, sixth schedule and indigenous rights, environmental law and climate change, AI and law, cyber law, international trade, border studies and human rights.

We also want to build meaningful partnerships with institutions within the Northeast, across India and internationally through joint research, conferences, academic exchanges and collaborative programmes. Our aim for NLU Meghalaya is not merely to participate in legal scholarship but to contribute new scholarship from the perspective of the Northeast.

What steps is NLU Meghalaya taking to build stronger internship and placement opportunities for its students, particularly those who wish to pursue careers in the Northeast?

Student career development is an important component of our institutional vision. We are working towards stronger relationships with corporate law firms, the judiciary, government, PSUs, NGOs, international organisations, litigation chambers and arbitration institutions.

For students interested in careers in the Northeast, there is considerable scope for engagement with High Courts, the district judiciary, government institutions, law firms, litigation chambers and civil society organisations. At the same time, we want students to have opportunities beyond the region and across India. We are in the process of entering into MOUs with major law firms in India with offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore.

Also read India added 196 public universities in 15 years, but most barely functional; private ones outnumber them

The proposed Shillong Arbitration Centre is another important part of this vision. We hope to work with the High Court of Meghalaya and the Government of Meghalaya towards developing an institutional arbitration centre at NLU Meghalaya. Such initiatives can simultaneously provide students with practical exposure and contribute to developing Meghalaya as a centre for legal services and dispute resolution.

Finally, having taught and worked at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and now leading NLU Meghalaya, what are the key lessons you are carrying with you, and what do you think a young NLU, especially in the Northeast, can do differently?

My years at NEHU have taught me that institutions are built through academic commitment, teamwork, good governance, and a shared sense of purpose. Having been associated with the Department of Law, NEHU, from its formative years and having served four terms as its Head, I have seen first-hand how an institution can grow through sustained collective effort.

A young university has a particular advantage: it can build its systems and culture with a fresh perspective. NLU Meghalaya should use that opportunity to embrace interdisciplinary education, encourage research and innovation, build strong collaborations and remain responsive to the needs of students and society. Most importantly, we should recognise the intellectual possibilities offered by the Northeast. Its constitutional, cultural, environmental and social realities can contribute significantly to Indian legal scholarship.

I aspire to build a university that is deeply rooted in the traditions and aspirations of Meghalaya and the Northeast, yet recognised nationally and internationally for excellence, integrity, innovation and public service.