Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
Bangladesh is a major country of origin for migrant workers. It is estimated that more than seven million Bangladeshis are now working and living abroad. It has a huge potential given the demand overseas for workers and challenges with lack of governance and malpractices in the sector.
The term migrant workers refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national (Art 2 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990).
In this article, the migrant workers are referred to those who are going abroad temporarily with contractual jobs.
Given the over population in Bangladesh, limited resources, and limited number of available jobs both in public and private sectors we are having difficulty in absorbing all our active and working people joining the workforce each year.
On the other hand, countries in the Western Europe, North America, Africa and even in the Eastern Asia need migrant workers to meet up their need to run the industries, construction works, health, hospitality, and service sectors among others.
The country could earn a record amount of US$ 9.6 billion as remittances during 2008-2009 fiscal year. In the year of 2009, the amount was again nearly US$ 10 billion (74,000 crore Taka) though the year was hit by the global economic recession. Actually, the remittance remained almost steady though the number of migrating population get down to almost half (475,000) in 2009.
There has been a prediction that by 2015 we could go to earn an annual target of US$ 30 billion as remittances if we could expand overseas job markets, make our migrant workers skilled, and remittances are sent through official channels.
So far we have no tangible progress in this regard. According to a senior official of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the country has reached an amount of US$ 15 billion as remittances by 2015 if the existing trend of migration continues.
In the present scenario, the labour migration sector has been facing the following challenges: lack of initiative to make the potential migrants more skilled and efficient for the prospective jobs, lack of capacity, governance, responsibility and accountability both in public and private sectors with regard to managing the ever growing demand, growing incidents of abuses and exploitations in the migration processes at home and abroad (some of which are tantamount to human trafficking), lack of administrative and legal framework to prevent and prosecute those wrong doings effectively etc.
Though there have been some initiatives for offering training to the potential migrants through government run training centers, however, those are not systematic, and not up to the mark to meet the need of the present global standard. Our workers lack in skills of language and attitude and manner as well.
That is why our migrant workers find them helpless while they are joining in the real work abroad.
The workers from Philippines or Sri Lanka who are adequately skilled could bargain for their services and are less vulnerable for their empowerment being skilled and could earn two to five times more for the same work and time in comparison with Bangladeshi workers.
The skill training provided by the so-called private recruiting or other agencies are simply a way of grabbing money from the innocent migrants.
Though there are nearly 800 Recruiting Agencies, however, government does not have adequate monitoring mechanism and schemes to oversee their activities. Also, there is no training program as such for the staff members of those agencies on ethics, human rights and other related issues. The apex body of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) is also failing to make effective monitoring over its respective members and combating unholy recruiting practices by its members.
There have been unholy networks and competitions among the Recruiting Agencies and their agents at home and abroad. That is why the migration costs are scoring high violating the amount prescribed by the government. Where the employers are paying pre-migration remittances for hiring a female migrant worker, on the contrary the Recruiting Agencies are charging a significant amount from them (migrant). These practices do force a migrant to sell out his/her belongings or take loan with exorbitant interest rates. That is also contributing to landlessness of exploited migrants (both male and female) as a 2008 study of the International Organiz-ation for Migration (IOM) conducted by Professor Mokaddem Hossian and Professor Mahbuba Nasreen in Bangladesh shown.
We are very much focused on the total amount of the remittances earned annually; however, unfortunately, we are not focusing on the individual exploitations and violations of rights of an individual migrant. That is why there is need to make a balance between the two.
Though the Constitution of the country guarantees equal protection of law, and freedom from all forms of exploitations, unfortunately, those guarantees are not working in case of the sufferings of the migrant workers. The respective state machineries are failing in this respect. The National Human Rights Commission should take note of that.
The capacities of the related government agencies, i.e., Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MOEWOE), Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and District Employment and Manpower Office (DEMO) do not have sufficient manpower to manage this huge sector.
Although most of our migrant workers are going abroad through their own connections or through the Recruiting Agencies, however, the government has an overall role to monitor, regulate and govern the sector.
The manpower at all the related agencies mentioned are not adequate in number as required and not qualified, trained or motivated for their respective jobs for so many reasons. There is also lack of budgetary, logistical and other constraints.
The total number of Labour Attaches is now 14 who are based in 12 countries. Those officers are deputed from the administration and other cadres. There has been demand for a permanent cadre for the Labour Attaches who would be adequately trained and could manage the sector either working at home or abroad.
The Secretary to the MOEWOE, Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan mentioned at a seminar in Dhaka on 11 October 2010 that though there is a huge contribution to our remittances by the migrant workers, however, the sector is not getting adequate attention of the government, and there is no well-coordinated planning so far. According to him, the growth of remittances flow since 2001 is 17% per year on an average. The official remittances flow is 13% GDP. It is 12 and 6 times more respectively of the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
However, as he exampled, the ERD has four times more staff members than the MOEWOE, where the former (ERD) manage an annual aid flow of nearly US$ 1.5 billion.
There is a lack of comprehensive legal framework to govern the migration sector. The major legal instrument, the Emigration Ordinance, 1982 (complemented by three Rules in 2002), does not have sufficient scope to protect the rights of the migrant workers in case of their violations of rights. There is lack of remedial measures and activities due to “narrow provision” in related law, and also lack of understanding and training on other alternative laws. Therefore, there is a growing acknowledgment for adoption of a comprehensive legal framework to manage the migration sector efficiently (i.e. along with a law penalizing human trafficking in the form of labour migration and related exploitations).
The reported corruption by those who are managing and running the migration activities needs to be intervened. This is allegedly happening in processing recruitment order, issuing clearance and immigration processes.
Bangladesh also did not ratify the major human rights treaty dealing with the migrants workers, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990 (the Convention). The country has signed it on 7 October 1998, though the Law Commission had recommended for its ratification that time.
It is now widely acknowledge that Bangladesh should ratify the Convention immediately. The ratification would boost country’s image with regard to its commitment for promoting and protecting human rights; at the same time it would contribute to the streamlining the administrative and legal frameworks and measures and initiating related institutional mechanisms among others as demanded by the Convention. However, only ratification will bring no benefit if it is not adopted in the domestic legislation and implemented progressively. In this case, the above-mentioned points deserve serious consideration.
There are quarters with their vested interests who are opposing the ratification of the Convention and reform in the migration management.
As a legal researcher and practitioner, I do observe that there will be no additional obligations (other than the Constitutional and other obligations already in place through ratification of other related international human rights instruments) on Bangladesh, if it ratifies the Convention.
I am also worried with one phenomenon: there are bunch of studies, series of meetings, discussions, or consultations on migration sectors by various stake holders including by the government and the development partners (of course there are duplications as well).
The MOEWOE has drafted a 9-point strategy paper in 2007. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) undertook five studies including the review of the overall labour migration sector of Bangladesh. All the reports had reportedly been submitted to respective ministries and departments. However, there is no reported follow-up activity so far. There are initiatives by others. All those need a well-coordination.
Also, there is lack of effective coordination among the related ministries and departments in managing and regulating the migration sector. There should be working coordination among them (especially, the MOEWOE, and ministries like Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs among others).
Given the importance of the sector, there is a dire need to establish a center of excellence, devoted training, research, publication and advocacy on migration related issues at national, regional and international level. Also, a higher authority under the Office of the Prime Minister should work to bring coordination among the activities.
We also need to incorporate migration related courses at our mainstream education from higher to university levels (i.e., as part of social science, human rights and legal course). That will contribute to have a pool of future government officials, administrators, academics, diplomats, lawyers, judges among others sensitized on migration issues.
Curriculum of specialized training institutes like Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center, Bangladesh Civil Service Academy, Bangladesh Institute of Administration Management, Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development, Foreign Service Academy, Judicial Administration Training Institution, Bangladesh Bar Council among others should introduce migration issues in their training curriculum. That would contribute immediately to have a pool of government officials and other practitioners to manage, bargain, and negotiate effectively activities related to migration sector.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das is Deputy Director, South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS), Dhaka.
* Originally appeared in the Daily Sun newspaper in Dhaka as a serialized article on 5, 6, and 7 November 2010. Links:
http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=05-11-2010&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=31&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&news_id=5452
http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=06-11-2010&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=32&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&news_id=5681
http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=07-11-2010&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=33&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&news_id=5916
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Law Letter: On legal education and research*
Legal education in Bangladesh has been facing a pity condition. Though we are producing a huge number of law graduates every year, however, majority of them are having under-qualified or non-qualified in terms of their legal knowledge, research, analytical, and presentation skills and competitiveness in a globalized legal profession.
The frustrating situation has been [is] better described as a “disastrous situation” by none other than the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and a renowned Law Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman in a recent interview with me.
This downwards trend in legal education have been contributed by the obsolete and archical curriculum, traditional teaching and examination methods, lack of practical and clinical aspects in the curriculum, huge gap in relations between teachers and students, teachers' engagement in out-side activities (other than own institutions), lack of interest, motivation, opportunity and skills for research and publications.
The scenario of legal research is at pity stage as well. A handful of law schools at public and private universities offer courses on legal research and writing. However, those also lack of standard and quality due to lack of resources (i.e., library materials, Internet faculties etc), skills and expertise of the respective faculty members. The private law colleges which are producing the majority of law graduates don't offer similar courses. That is why a great number of lawyers (and future judges) are coming from there with out skills in legal research and writing. These skills are taught at law schools even in countries like India and Nepal as well.
Our faculty members are coming back with education and degrees in the developed countries, however, they are not taking any initiative to introduce best practices out of their knowledge and learning.
The journals published by law schools at public universities (not regular in publication) do follow a principle of “limiting knowledge.” For example, the Journal of the Faculty of Law at the University of Dhaka accepts articles only from their respective faculty members. This is also true for other public universities which hardly happens in the universities in other countries.
When a journal is supposed to explore and disseminate new knowledge on a given subject, how come it will probe its standard while there is no competitiveness in selecting and reviewing articles independently. Who will give a guaranty that only teachers could write “best articles”? This so-called journals are also not publicly available as I experienced.
Given my recent affiliation for a year [as] a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School and Human Rights Center in Minneapolis, U.S.A., I found that three of their journals are being edited and published by only students (appointed by the schools on a rotation basis) alongside two others by faculty members, and two more by jointly by faculties and students. Those are coming out on a scheduled dates over the years incorporating articles selected on its originality, analysis, quality and contribution. They hardly bother about whether the author is a teacher or students, or a practicing lawyer. The same I found at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India.
Here, our professional, research and training institutions are also lacking in terms of quality research and publications. The Bangladesh Bar Council and Law Commission neither have research and publication projects nor journals. The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) had its last issue of the biannual publication, Bangladesh Journal of Law in 2007. Though the Judicial Administration and Training Institute (JATI) has its own journal however, its lacks professionalism and quality in publishing a research journal.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
LL.M. (Minn., U.S.A.), Ph.D.
Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star, "Law & Our Rights" Section, 12 November 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/11/02/letter.htm
The frustrating situation has been [is] better described as a “disastrous situation” by none other than the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and a renowned Law Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman in a recent interview with me.
This downwards trend in legal education have been contributed by the obsolete and archical curriculum, traditional teaching and examination methods, lack of practical and clinical aspects in the curriculum, huge gap in relations between teachers and students, teachers' engagement in out-side activities (other than own institutions), lack of interest, motivation, opportunity and skills for research and publications.
The scenario of legal research is at pity stage as well. A handful of law schools at public and private universities offer courses on legal research and writing. However, those also lack of standard and quality due to lack of resources (i.e., library materials, Internet faculties etc), skills and expertise of the respective faculty members. The private law colleges which are producing the majority of law graduates don't offer similar courses. That is why a great number of lawyers (and future judges) are coming from there with out skills in legal research and writing. These skills are taught at law schools even in countries like India and Nepal as well.
Our faculty members are coming back with education and degrees in the developed countries, however, they are not taking any initiative to introduce best practices out of their knowledge and learning.
The journals published by law schools at public universities (not regular in publication) do follow a principle of “limiting knowledge.” For example, the Journal of the Faculty of Law at the University of Dhaka accepts articles only from their respective faculty members. This is also true for other public universities which hardly happens in the universities in other countries.
When a journal is supposed to explore and disseminate new knowledge on a given subject, how come it will probe its standard while there is no competitiveness in selecting and reviewing articles independently. Who will give a guaranty that only teachers could write “best articles”? This so-called journals are also not publicly available as I experienced.
Given my recent affiliation for a year [as] a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School and Human Rights Center in Minneapolis, U.S.A., I found that three of their journals are being edited and published by only students (appointed by the schools on a rotation basis) alongside two others by faculty members, and two more by jointly by faculties and students. Those are coming out on a scheduled dates over the years incorporating articles selected on its originality, analysis, quality and contribution. They hardly bother about whether the author is a teacher or students, or a practicing lawyer. The same I found at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India.
Here, our professional, research and training institutions are also lacking in terms of quality research and publications. The Bangladesh Bar Council and Law Commission neither have research and publication projects nor journals. The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) had its last issue of the biannual publication, Bangladesh Journal of Law in 2007. Though the Judicial Administration and Training Institute (JATI) has its own journal however, its lacks professionalism and quality in publishing a research journal.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
LL.M. (Minn., U.S.A.), Ph.D.
Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star, "Law & Our Rights" Section, 12 November 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/11/02/letter.htm
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Opinion: Whether legal education in Bangladesh
By Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
All sensible among us are to be concerned with the existing legal education in Bangladesh. Unfortunately our policy makers have no headway on this.
Given the existing curriculum, lack of practical aspects in the education, traditional teaching methodology, absence of social exposure in the course works, lack of training, motivation and incentives for faculties, lack of research and publication facilities both for faculties and students our law schools are lagging behind in producing quality law graduates with enough legal knowledge and related skills. We are also lagging behind in the regional and global context.
We are hardly confident of our law graduates whether they are skilled and competent enough to compete for jobs in legal practice, international or UN agencies and other new avenues in the globalized world.
There is no plan how many law graduates do we need to produce a year. Also, there is no screening mechanism for potential students to entering into private law schools or colleges. At the same time, any law graduates could get a license as an Advocate (Attorney) from the Bar Council through passing a so-called examination (having written and viva voce components). However, there is no effective mechanism to examine whether someone really has enough legal knowledge and professional skills, or have knowledge on professional ethics and atticate.
No one other than Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, who is a renowned Law Professor at the University of Dhaka and currently the Chairman of the National Human Rights Council (NHRC), described the situation of legal education in Bangladesh as a “disoriented one.” He told me in a recent interview: “There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country.” The Government can also don’t rid of its responsibilities.
According to Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, the legendary legal academic who had pioneered through establishing the National University of India University in Bangalore, the legal education aims to produce: (i) sufficient competent lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to administer the judiciary, (ii) well-trained law personnel for providing legal services to the government departments and corporate institutions, (iii) legal researchers and academics for legal education, legal reform, good governance, and (iv) disseminate legal knowledge and culture conducive to the Constitution, rule of law, good governance, human rights, and democracy.
India has now around 20 full-fledged Law University including one in Kolkata (i.e., West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) modeled on the National Law University of India University in Bangalore. Even Katmandu School of Law in Nepal evolved on the same model could be a model for Bangladesh.
Quality legal education has a direct contribution to the quality of lawyers and legal profession; the same is also link to quality of judges, legal and judicial activism, rule of law, democracy and promotion and protection of human rights.
Now, let us look at what our law departments, schools or colleges are doing. The agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), Bangladesh Bar Council, or the Law Commission who are legally obligated and empowered to review, monitor and recommend measures for quality legal education and legal professions have been failing miserably. The Supreme Court Bar Association, and Districts Bar Associations are also indifferent in acting for in promoting quality legal education and training.
In Bangladesh, there are various schemes of legal education: there are four year LL.B. (Honours) programme at law schools or departments of public and private universities, and two year LL.B. programme at the private law colleges affiliated with the National University. There are one year LL.M. program both at public universities; and both one and two year LL.M. programme at private universities.
Apart from that there is another stream of legal education, which are external programmes of some British Universities. This is “discriminatory to the common people being very expensive”. This course is not approved by the University Grants Commission as well.
There is a huge gap of the legal knowledge and skills what students are learning in different course (i.e., at public and private universities, and from private law colleges).
The curriculum at both public and private law school/departments/colleges are obsolete and archaical.
No one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified, as Dr. Mizanur Rahman mentioned to me. According to him, the private law colleges, now home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centers in producing so-called law graduates. These colleges are producing more graduates.
The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere, this seasoned legal academic observed.
This poor legal education has serious negative impact on our legal and judicial system. As seen by Dr. Rahman: “Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening to the bench.” He went further to say: “Thus, we are getting bad justice system and judgments from them.” However, there are few activist lawyers and judges. Its true again that few activist lawyers or judges change the whole system.
Since we are not having a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education that is why the common people are obscure in the legal and judicial system, as commented by Dr. Rahman. He opined: “Without a sound legal education we can’t expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
There is “blame game” also. Bangladesh Bar Council has been accusing (private) law schools of producing “non-qualified” graduates and “selling certificates,” as I have noticed from the speech of the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Advocate Abdul Baset Mazumder in a seminar in Dhaka on 25 October, 2010. The allegations might have some grounds, however, one can easily ask the Council what the they are then doing, and why they are not standardizing the enrollment examination-system which could contribute positively in legal education.
One thing I need to mention here also. The development partners and donor agencies have so much interest in promoting access to justice and human rights. Unfortunately, I did not see any tangible initiative from them to make partnership in promoting quality legal or human rights education and research here which are keys to what they wanted for.
Our concerned Ministries and other institutions have failed miserably in this regard. Therefore, we need to establish a standard setting legal education institution in the country (what was initiated by the Bar Council of India in case of the National University of India University in Bangalore, and Kathmandu School of Law did in its 10 years life span).
As prescribed by Dr. Menon, the legal education should be of problem solving which would give opportunities to students for legal analysis and reasoning, research and writing, investigation and marshalling facts, communication, negotiating, counseling, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and litigation. The graduates are expected to manage efficiently the legal work and will have right attitudes to the dignity of the profession of law and justice. They would nourish and fight for to protect the professional values and integrity, and to promote and practice fairness and freedom from bias.
According to this renowned Law Professor, law as a discipline is to play multiple tasks in a society, and lawyers are expected to act as change agents and social engineers in governance and development of a nation.
So, therefore, when will our legal education in Bangladesh move in that direction only time can say.#
Uttam Kumar Das, Ph.D., is a Human Rights Lawyer. He is the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Dhaka. However, opinion is author’s own. E-mail: udas1971@gmail.com.
All sensible among us are to be concerned with the existing legal education in Bangladesh. Unfortunately our policy makers have no headway on this.
Given the existing curriculum, lack of practical aspects in the education, traditional teaching methodology, absence of social exposure in the course works, lack of training, motivation and incentives for faculties, lack of research and publication facilities both for faculties and students our law schools are lagging behind in producing quality law graduates with enough legal knowledge and related skills. We are also lagging behind in the regional and global context.
We are hardly confident of our law graduates whether they are skilled and competent enough to compete for jobs in legal practice, international or UN agencies and other new avenues in the globalized world.
There is no plan how many law graduates do we need to produce a year. Also, there is no screening mechanism for potential students to entering into private law schools or colleges. At the same time, any law graduates could get a license as an Advocate (Attorney) from the Bar Council through passing a so-called examination (having written and viva voce components). However, there is no effective mechanism to examine whether someone really has enough legal knowledge and professional skills, or have knowledge on professional ethics and atticate.
No one other than Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, who is a renowned Law Professor at the University of Dhaka and currently the Chairman of the National Human Rights Council (NHRC), described the situation of legal education in Bangladesh as a “disoriented one.” He told me in a recent interview: “There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country.” The Government can also don’t rid of its responsibilities.
According to Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, the legendary legal academic who had pioneered through establishing the National University of India University in Bangalore, the legal education aims to produce: (i) sufficient competent lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to administer the judiciary, (ii) well-trained law personnel for providing legal services to the government departments and corporate institutions, (iii) legal researchers and academics for legal education, legal reform, good governance, and (iv) disseminate legal knowledge and culture conducive to the Constitution, rule of law, good governance, human rights, and democracy.
India has now around 20 full-fledged Law University including one in Kolkata (i.e., West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) modeled on the National Law University of India University in Bangalore. Even Katmandu School of Law in Nepal evolved on the same model could be a model for Bangladesh.
Quality legal education has a direct contribution to the quality of lawyers and legal profession; the same is also link to quality of judges, legal and judicial activism, rule of law, democracy and promotion and protection of human rights.
Now, let us look at what our law departments, schools or colleges are doing. The agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), Bangladesh Bar Council, or the Law Commission who are legally obligated and empowered to review, monitor and recommend measures for quality legal education and legal professions have been failing miserably. The Supreme Court Bar Association, and Districts Bar Associations are also indifferent in acting for in promoting quality legal education and training.
In Bangladesh, there are various schemes of legal education: there are four year LL.B. (Honours) programme at law schools or departments of public and private universities, and two year LL.B. programme at the private law colleges affiliated with the National University. There are one year LL.M. program both at public universities; and both one and two year LL.M. programme at private universities.
Apart from that there is another stream of legal education, which are external programmes of some British Universities. This is “discriminatory to the common people being very expensive”. This course is not approved by the University Grants Commission as well.
There is a huge gap of the legal knowledge and skills what students are learning in different course (i.e., at public and private universities, and from private law colleges).
The curriculum at both public and private law school/departments/colleges are obsolete and archaical.
No one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified, as Dr. Mizanur Rahman mentioned to me. According to him, the private law colleges, now home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centers in producing so-called law graduates. These colleges are producing more graduates.
The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere, this seasoned legal academic observed.
This poor legal education has serious negative impact on our legal and judicial system. As seen by Dr. Rahman: “Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening to the bench.” He went further to say: “Thus, we are getting bad justice system and judgments from them.” However, there are few activist lawyers and judges. Its true again that few activist lawyers or judges change the whole system.
Since we are not having a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education that is why the common people are obscure in the legal and judicial system, as commented by Dr. Rahman. He opined: “Without a sound legal education we can’t expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
There is “blame game” also. Bangladesh Bar Council has been accusing (private) law schools of producing “non-qualified” graduates and “selling certificates,” as I have noticed from the speech of the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Advocate Abdul Baset Mazumder in a seminar in Dhaka on 25 October, 2010. The allegations might have some grounds, however, one can easily ask the Council what the they are then doing, and why they are not standardizing the enrollment examination-system which could contribute positively in legal education.
One thing I need to mention here also. The development partners and donor agencies have so much interest in promoting access to justice and human rights. Unfortunately, I did not see any tangible initiative from them to make partnership in promoting quality legal or human rights education and research here which are keys to what they wanted for.
Our concerned Ministries and other institutions have failed miserably in this regard. Therefore, we need to establish a standard setting legal education institution in the country (what was initiated by the Bar Council of India in case of the National University of India University in Bangalore, and Kathmandu School of Law did in its 10 years life span).
As prescribed by Dr. Menon, the legal education should be of problem solving which would give opportunities to students for legal analysis and reasoning, research and writing, investigation and marshalling facts, communication, negotiating, counseling, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and litigation. The graduates are expected to manage efficiently the legal work and will have right attitudes to the dignity of the profession of law and justice. They would nourish and fight for to protect the professional values and integrity, and to promote and practice fairness and freedom from bias.
According to this renowned Law Professor, law as a discipline is to play multiple tasks in a society, and lawyers are expected to act as change agents and social engineers in governance and development of a nation.
So, therefore, when will our legal education in Bangladesh move in that direction only time can say.#
Uttam Kumar Das, Ph.D., is a Human Rights Lawyer. He is the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Dhaka. However, opinion is author’s own. E-mail: udas1971@gmail.com.
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