Indian Scenario of Legal Education

Much of the dilemma concerning legal education in India is based on the confusion centering on such a kind of professional and liberal education. Law as a subject has always been interesting like one studies History, Political Science, or Economics. The recipient of education shall certainly become transformed and knowledgeable after studying law as a subject.

In India, the transformation of legal education into a professional career has been made possible owing to the continuous endeavor of National Law Schools and several other Indian universities which offer academic programs in Law. The efforts of Bar Council of India and University Grants Commission are also worth noting.

India, for the last few years, was lacking with a proper policy on Law education. There is complete chaos in the education owing to the presence of a number of regulatory authorities. If we consider professional side, then Bar Council of India (BCI) plays an important role in promoting and standardizing professional legal education in India. On the other hand, University Grants Commission, the apex body which regulates and standardizes university education, is also responsible for legal education in India.

However, in recent years, there has been significant development in the legal education in the country. From 2008 onwards the seven national law schools in the country have decided to conduct a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admission to their undergraduate and post graduate programs. This can be treated as a milestone in the development of legal education in the country with collaborative efforts from the seven law schools towards bringing more expediency in the admission process.

In India, almost all law schools and universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Law. The program may be three years LLB. course or two years LLM. course. However, the recent development of the five-year integrated LL.B course in the curriculum is highly sought after among students and parents.  The course has demonstrated its superiority in legal education wherever it was honestly implemented.