Raising the Bar
WHAT AILS OUR LEGAL EDUCATION SYSTEM AND HOW WE CAN FIX THE PROBLEM
W hile American TV series Suits inspires a number of students to take up law, it fails to show them the real picture. Not just that, even the five-year full-time course also fails to do justice to the realities of the legal field. It therefore is the need of the hour to understand some of the shortcomings of legal education in India and how can they can be set right.
PACKED WITH BOOKISH KNOWLEDGE
The common perception is that studying law is tedious and involves reading of endless theory books, which are too complicated and lengthy. The problem is that despite their volume, they often fail to explain the real essence of the law, making it harder for students to decode information. In most of the law colleges, stress is only on reading books. So, students miss out on practical details.
NO CLARITY ABOUT PROCEDURAL SIDE
When we talk about the procedural part, be it at the level of understanding something as trivial as drafting to something as major as formal proceedings of the case, understanding of the nitty-gritties is not emphasised.
FACULTY LACKS INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE
Law is one profession which involves dealing with people, corporates and organisations, either directly or indirectly. Ironically, most of the faculty members do not have any industrial experience and don’t have an idea of how to equip students for that. As a result, there is lack of creativity, innovation, case study-based learning and experiential learning for students.
LACK OF AWARENESS ABOUT SPECIALISATIONS
Even after five years of education, students are clueless about the growth, specialisations and career opportunities available to them. The degree fails to make them understand what litigation, IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), criminal or civil law would provide them in terms of work and monetary benefits. There have been cases of graduates leaving jobs in between as they were not prepared to face the stark realities of the industry.
TREND OF ROTE LEARNING
Students are often asked to learn by rote and deliver accordingly when they sit for exams. Many of them point out that it is not possible to memorise each and every bit. Rote learning and scoring well never teach students the skill of researching, communicating, drafting and presenting.
LACK OF SKILL BUILDING ACTIVITIES
Logical reasoning, verbal skills, language usage skills, research and writing skills are some of the things which are not worked on in these five years. This adversely impacts employment opportunities as employers in legal firms demand students with exceptional skills instead of investing resources in rigorous training.