St Xavier’s University, New Town, which had postponed the Xavier Law Admission Test (XLAT) in April because of the pandemic, has scheduled the tests for July 18. Aspirants can write the tests online from home.

The computer-based test that would have required visiting examination centres was to be held in nine cities, including Calcutta, on April 25.

Now, the test will be internet-based. If an aspirant has poor connectivity at home, he or she can go to the campus and use the university’s facilities to write the tests.

“The aspirants are free to come to the campus in New Town and use our computer labs to write the online tests. They can stay at our hostels on the campus and write the tests from our labs. As many as 400 candidates can use the labs to write the tests, following the safety protocols,” vice-chancellor Father Felix Raj told The Telegraph.

The Xavier Law School, a unit of St Xavier’s University, offers five-year integrated BA LLB (honours) and BCom LLB (honours) courses.

Students with the required plus-II qualifications — uploaded on the university’s website — and who are not more than 20 years old on July 1, 2021, are eligible to apply for the admission tests.

Father Felix Raj said at a meeting on Wednesday that the university had decided to let aspirants write the online tests from home to prevent exposure to the coronavirus at a time a large number of people are testing positive for Covid across the country daily.

“The rate of infection may have come down from what it was in late April or May, but the threat persists. So, we don’t want the aspirants to step out of their home to write the tests. If there is any connectivity problem at home, they are free to come to the campus and write the tests,” he said.

The law school classes will start in the online mode on August 9.

A university official said because of the delayed start to the academic year, the duration of the Puja and Christmas vacations would be reduced so that the first-semester syllabus can be completed on time.

Since most aspirants will write the tests from home, the university will introduce measures for “remote proctoring” to ensure no unfair means are adopted, the official said. “The aspirants will be asked to keep their desktop or laptop cameras on so that there can be remote invigilation. In case they decide to write the tests from our computer labs, there will be in-person invigilation.”