The Law Development Centre (LDC), which is Uganda’s only Bar Course teaching institution, has just released the results of the last Academic Year 2022/2023.
Announced on Saturday by the LDC Director and Chief Examiner Mr. Frank Nigel Othembi, the results indicate an impressive performance by the wannabe Advocates who must take and pass the Bar Course as a pre-qualification for becoming Advocates in Uganda.
Unlike in the past when most of the lawyers taking the Bar Course would fail causing bewilderment (read about this here) in the Country, this time around, the majority (44%) passed. Only 18% ultimately failed (which means they have to repeat the entire Course if they wish to) with 38% having to do “supplementary exams ” during the ongoing Academic Year.
The Law Development Centre, in its efforts to decentralize its teaching and decongest its main branch in Kampala now, has two other campuses based in the upcountry districts of Lira and Mbarara.
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According to the just-released results, lawyers who studied the Course from upcountry edged their counterparts in the Capital City with the Lira campus posting the best overall performance (62%), followed by the Mbarara campus (41%) and Kampala (38%).
Lira also registered the least failure rate at 10%.
The Legal Reports reached out to Mr. Frank Nigel Othembi for an explanation of the results but calls to his known telephone number went unanswered by Publishing time.
It is important to understand that in the recent past, the LDC Director attributed the huge failure rates of the Bar Course to the disruptive Covid-19 pandemic and unpreparedness among the students due to the removal of the Pre-entry exam to the Course.
So, what has changed?
Ever since that explanation above was made, damning things about LDC and its examination system have come to light.
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For example, we have seen maladministration at the institution culminating in last year’s sacking of the Academic Registrar and the Chief Examination Officer due to sexual harassment and corruption respectively. (Read our report here.)
Are these results a sign that good, honest times in the LDC “algorithm” (examination system) are ahead?
Benjamin Ahikiiriza is a Professional Legal Writer And Digital Communications And Marketing Specialist Focused on Helping Lawyers, Law Firms And the Legal Sector Leverage Digital Communication Tools to Achieve Their Goals.
He is the Founder and Chief Editor of the LegalReports Website.
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