Whither legal education ?
We do talk of a effective legal system and judiciary in Bangladesh. The people deserve that.
However, we do hardly pay our attention to the root cause of the problem. We have to have a plan to standardize the quality of our legal education to meet the needs of the time. This is a pre-requisite to have sound legally educated personnel to fill up positions of lawyers, judges and other professionals. This is instrumental for an effective justice system as well.
Some time back, one columnist questioned the validity of our expectation for the rule of law in the country without any significant investment for quality legal education (except funds for some public universities which have law departments).
Now, there are mostly four streams of legal education in Bangladesh. These are four public universities, 10 to 12 private universities, non-governmental colleges under the National University, and distance/external programmes of UK-based universities. Apart from that there are a few self-styled centres of some overseas institutions or linked programmes that cheat the 'degree-seekers' in the name of offering degrees through so-called online courses.
There have been LL.B. (Honours) and L.L.M. programmes at four public universities. One could easily raise questions on the level and standard of the existing curriculum, medium of instruction and teaching methods, research works and publications carried out by the faculty members, extra-curricular engagements of students etc.
In recent years, politically-patronized individuals have grabbed faculty positions in almost all of those law departments.
Despite that some students from law departments at public universities could achieve remarkable standards as a result of their individual efforts during student life and afterwards.
Our legal luminaries have been busy in the corridors of courts and politics and on overseas missions as well. They hardly have time to think of how to facilitate quality legal education. The professors (we have few of that standard) are also busy with consultancy work and their own NGOs.
Therefore, it is a high time to make avenues for offering quality legal education and research in the country. In an Asian Development Bank-sponsored study renowned Professor N. R. Madhava Menon (of India) has provided an excellent review of our existing legal education. It could be a benchmark for any future relevant activity.
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