Nigerian law school records the poorest performance ever as 4000 students fail

The Nigerian law school released its August 4th-10th 2012 examination result on the 20th of September, 2012. This result was slated for release on the 24th of September, 2012, being 4 days earlier before the official announced date.

The result has been rated as one of the poorest in the history of the Nigerian Law school, having over 6,000 registered students, and 1625 passed the bar part 2 examination. This result has given rise to an industry of complaints and agitations, on how the Nigerian Law school result is being marked, graded and computed.

The agitation is premised on the fact that the Nigerian Law school has a standing rule, which was introduced, 5 months into the administration of the current Director General of the institution, Dr Tahir Mamman, which forecloses any form of redress a student may want to seek, whenever dissatisfied by the result of the examination of the institution.

Reports have it that during the administration of the erstwhile DG ,Dr Kole Abayomi, an aggrieved student complained and the results were reviewed. This student eventually scored a 2’1 (second class upper) as his grade, paving way to over 140 students, whose results were also reviewed.

This policy of review came to an abrupt end, when the current DG assumed office. Within 5 months, he assumed office, he put and end to this policy, which also gave rise to corruption within the circle of the institution where manipulations and error happens from time to time, without any form of redress by the students. Information has it that clerical staffs alter results, for gratification, from some students who can afford the pay.

The issue of school fees is another challenge students and prospective students battle with. The school fees of the Nigerian Law school in the just concluded session was N245,000, exclusive of N15,000 form for the application form. The fees of the incoming student has been reviewed upward, to N280,000, and the application form goes for N20,000.

In terms of infrastructure, the Kano campus of the institution suffers the most, where students are constantly exposed to snake bites, scorpion stings, poor electricity, lack of portable water, accommodation, good and functioning library, incondusive lecture halls for learning, lack of adequate medical facilities, furniture, lighting, banking facilities and lately, Boko Haram activities. In February this year, Boko Haram wrote the Kano campus an open letter and pasted it at the administrative building in Kano, in preparation of an imminent attack on the institution.

Among the staffs, the Council of Legal Education is seen as a rubber stamp of the Nigerian Law School. The Nigerian Law school is facing a downward move in fortunes. Something has to be done.