The Attorney General Dorcas Oduor during her vetting by the Parliament Committee on Appointments on August 9, 2024.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has now moved to concerns raised by law students and stakeholders over mass failures in law exams offered by the Kenya School of Law (KSL).
This follows a consultative meeting convened by the AG on Wednesday attended by the President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Chairpersons of the KSL, Council for Legal Education (CLE), the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) as well as their Chief Executive Officers.
The meeting, which is the first with stakeholders since Ms Oduor assumed office, is a response to the widespread concerns raised by students and other stakeholders in the legal education system.
Some of the issues that were discussed in the meeting includes the admission criteria for law students to the advocates training program, transparency of the examination process administered by the Council of Legal Education, budgetary allocation for KSL and CLE.
Also, the fees chargeable for law students for the Advocates Training Program and budgetary support for needy students seeking to enroll for the Advocates Training Program under the KSL were raised.
Following the meeting, the Attorney General said that there was need to facilitate a timely response to the mounting public concerns.
She said she has since established a Working Committee which will be led by the Chairperson of the Kenya Law Reform Commission.
“The committee is expected to develop a report within a period of two months, that will inform the implementation of the requisite reform interventions, including the recommendations as enumerated in the Taskforce Report on the Legal Education Sector Reforms,” AG Oduor said.
The committee has been directed to consolidate and harmonise the concerns raised by students, including the implications of the various court pronouncements on the matter.
Part of the mandate of the committee will be to reach out to the members of the public, particularly the affected students where they will submit their views and memoranda, on additional proposals and interventions to address the concerns.
In the same context, the office of the Attorney General reiterated that the government is committed to ensure that Kenya's legal education system remains of the highest standard.
In 2023, Kenya School of Law Students Governor Council (SGC) protested over high failure rate in the examination which was administered in March 2023.
Following mass failure of law students in 2018, where 1,820 students out of 2,000 students who sat for the exams failed, former AG Kihara Kariuki blamed Council of Legal Education for testing students on legal work that had not been taught.
“There is a need for harmonisation of functions between KSL and CLE. This is reflected in the fact that students appear to be tested on matters they are not taught,” Mr Kariuki said.
All eyes are now on the incumbent Ms Oduor, and the stakeholders to see if they will put an end to the mass failure of law students.
