Legal Education Challenges & Reforms in 21st

Century
All India Seminar on Global Legal Education by Confederation
of Indian Bar In Association with KIIT

Prof.(Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad

Director- College of Legal Studies
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Version 2

Contents
A. Status of Legal Education in India
B. Challenges
C. Further Up-gradation & Reforms
D. Suggestions

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

A-Status of Legal Education in India

1. Around 3 Lakh students join Legal education every year
2. Around 50 thousand students are aspiring to go for good quality legal education annually.
3. Around 70-75 Thousand students passes every year with a law degree
4. Around 30-35 Thousand students joins the Bar
5. Currently there are 15 Lakh registered advocates in different Bars in India

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

A-Status of Legal Education in India cont

6. Due to New experiment of National Law University Model started in the form of National Law
School of India University Bangalore in 1987. We are able to attract the talented and potential
students for legal education
7. We have currently 18 National Law Universities- No. of seats- around 2500
8. We have good quality Central/State University Law Dept- seats around 1250
9. We have good quality Private University Law Schools- seats around 1500
10. Total availability as per the demand is only 15%
11. Remaining 85% law graduates passing out from professionally non-competent law schools.
12. Mostly they ( around 35,000) target the lower courts and lower Judiciary annually
13. Major focus and reforms are required in these low grade laws schools
14. Further up gradation and excellence required in Top Law schools on a Global Benchmark
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

A-Status of Legal Education in India-Cont..

a. Interdisciplinary courses

We are able to do interdisciplinary linkages and provide full fledged and

specialized degree courses/programs on :
Law & Social Science
Law & Commerce
Law & Business Management
Law & Science
Law & Technology
But no law school in India able to launch full fledged degree programs on:
Natural Resources & Law
Medical Science & Law etc.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

b. Gaps between law in books and law in action

We are also able to go on minimizing the gaps between law in books and law in
action like:
Promoting the application of Clinical legal education
Student internships during the course
Faculty internships during the course
Required inputs from the practicing lawyers, judges and law
officers/managers holding the leadership positions in the Corporate world.
But the practice is followed mostly in National Law Universities and good
private law schools while in the govt. law schools and small private law
schools it is very rare.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

c. Curriculum as per the professional needs

To 15% Law graduate producing schools are able to go on updating the

curriculum and syllabus as per the changing time.
But the practice is very rare in the 85% Law graduate producing schools

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

d. Teaching of skills and outcome based process.

It is very rare and depends on the institution and a particular faculty

Law being a challenging professional course the entire focus should be on out
come based teaching-learning process and skill development.

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

B-Challenges
1. Lack of full fledged refined and updated common curriculum at national level as per the need
of the hour.
2. Though the CDC of BCI and UGC provided the syllabus of some courses but that is neither
perfect nor updated even a single time since it was circulated by UGC 1997 and by the BCI in
2010.
3. Lack of professionally competent faculty
4. Lack of required library resources
5. Lack of proper utilization of technology in the teaching learning process
6. Difficult to retain good faculty due to big gaps between the salary of law teachers and the
corporate law professionals
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

B-Challenges cont..
7. Attitude of the most of the law schools and law teachers that just to provide a
degree than to create a professionally competent and skilled law professional
8. Attitude of the law students that just to get a degree than to transform
themselves into an excellent law professional
9. Lack of vision of professional bodies and their control on mushrooming of noncompetent law schools
10. Non Compliance of the most of the law schools of the BCI standards of Legal
education implemented in 2010

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

C-Further up-gradation and reforms

Major focus and reforms are required in the low standard laws schools
producing 85% law graduates to make it at par with the national requirements
Further Up-gradation and excellence required in the Top 15% law graduate
producing Universities to make them comparable to the best in the world on a
Global Benchmark

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

C-Further up gradation and reforms-cont..

1) setting goals,
2) organizing the program of instruction,
3) delivering instruction, generally,
4) conducting experiential courses,
5) employing non-experiential methods of instruction,
6) assessing student learning, and
7) evaluating the success of the program of instruction.

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

How to go ahead and What to be done.

-Setting Goals
1. Law schools should demonstrate a commitment to preparing their students for bar
examinations and for law practice.
2. They should engage in a continuing dialogue with academics, practitioners, judges,
licensing authorities, and the general public about how best to accomplish this goal.
3. Law schools should clearly articulate their educational goals and share them with
their students.
4. Law schools should shift from content-focused programs of instruction to outcomesfocused programs of instruction that are concerned with what students will be able
to do and how they will do it, as well as what they will know on their first day in law
practice.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

How to go ahead and What to be done.

-Setting Goals- Cont
5. The primary goal of legal education should be to develop competence, that is, the
ability to resolve legal problems effectively and responsibly.
6. Law schools should help students acquire:
a. the attributes of effective, responsible lawyers
b. including self reflection and lifelong learning skills,
c. intellectual and analytical skills,
d. core knowledge and understanding of law,
e. professional skills, and
f. professionalism.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Organizing the Program of Instruction

1. Law schools should organize their curriculums to develop
knowledge, skills, and values progressively;
2. integrate the teaching of theory, doctrine, and practice; and
teach professionalism pervasively throughout all three/five years of
law school.

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Delivering Instruction
1. Law schools should use teaching methods that most effectively and efficiently achieve
desired educational objectives, employ context-based instruction throughout the program of
instruction, and employ best practices when using any instructional methodology.
2. Law schools should create and maintain healthy teaching and learning environments.
3. Law schools should enhance the quality of their programs of instruction with technology
and by making appropriate use of practicing lawyers and judges.
4. Law schools should have effective teacher development programs and establish learning
centers

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Assessing Student Learning

Law schools should use best practices for assessing student learning, including
criteria-referenced
assessments, multiple formative and summative assessments, and various
methods of assessment.

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Evaluating the Success of the Program of Instruction

1. Law schools should regularly evaluate their effectiveness and use best practices for
conducting such evaluations.
2. Many of the recommendations do not have cost or time implications, and others have none
beyond the initial effort involved in making the transition from current practices. It will
require hard work and, perhaps, additional or reallocated resources to implement some of
the recommendations.
3. We have no doubt, however, that the major impediment to reforming legal education is a
lack of vision and commitment, not a lack of resources.
4. Hopefully, this seminar provides some of the needed vision and will inspire more people to
become committed to implementing positive changes in legal education.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Suggestions
1. Every disputed should be looked as a public interest dimension
2. 65 Skills which are fundamental to the success of a law profession are the outside
of the realm of Law. therefore the students should also be engaged in the other
interlinking areas.
3. Due to the growing importance of the mediation around 55% cases are settled
through mediation process.
4. For the demand of Social justice we should no more only rely on adversarial system
5. No system can survive without a research & development. Therefore in-depth
research is required to see the dimension of socio-economic context.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Suggestions cont
6. To fill the gap of skill set required for a lawyer there should be one year diploma
program which every one aspiring to become a lawyer should pass
7. Continuing legal education should be given utmost importance to upgrade the
standards of Law teachers, lawyers and Judges
8. A comprehensive re-look of the entire legal education is required due to
globalization by a high power committee
9. Every state should have an academy of lawyers and emphasis should be given on
improving communication and research ability of the lawyers
10. A National level law teacher academy is required to be established to train and
upgrade the teaching standards of law teachers. Special emphasis should be given to
improve the skill of research, teaching and ethics.
Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Suggestions cont

11. A diploma for the law teachers should be started to fill the gap of required
skills as a law teacher
12. We require a legal education Act passed by Parliament
13. We should establish a world class legal education and legal profession to
sustain the challenges posed by the Globalization and convert the threat into a
opportunity

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun

Thank You for your

Attention

For any further query feel

free to reach
tabrezahmad7@gmail.com

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad, Director, College of Legal Studies, University of Petrolium & Energy Studies, Dehradun