Govt. report shows MKU law students excel in Bar exams

MKU had a pass rate of 96 per cent, the second highest

CJ David Maraga {left} Gesture with Abdirazak mohamed a student from MKU school of law after being admitted to a new Advocates Roll to practice law

A report by the Task Force on Legal Sector Reforms (TFLSR) shows that Mount Kenya University (MKU) effectively trains law students at undergraduate level.

Learners who undertake their LLB studies at the university go on to perform well in the Kenya School of Law (KSL) Bar examinations, the task force established.

TFLSR presented its report at a conference held January 14-18 in Mombasa under the theme, A Legal Profession for the 21st Century.

The Council of Legal Education (CLE) and Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice organised the meeting for stakeholders to give their input and validate the report.

The task force was appointed by then Attorney-General Prof Githu Muigai on 26 September 2016, and is chaired by Senior Counsel Fred Ojiambo.

The report found that a high percentage of MKU students who sit the Bar exams pass, compared to those from other universities. MKU had a pass rate of 96 per cent, the second highest after Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT’s) and African Nazarene University tied at 98 per cent pass rate.

Kenyatta University had a 70 per cent pass rate, Moi University 78 per cent, University of Nairobi Parklands Campus 80 per cent and its Mombasa Campus, 95 per cent. Kabarak University had a pass rate of 94 per cent, while Catholic University of Eastern Africa had 92 per cent on the same score.

The report revealed that nationally, 8,549 law students out of 16,000 – or a massive 53 per cent – who sat their Bar examinations between 2009 and 2016, failed.

Bar examinations are mandatory for law graduates who want to join the Bar in the country.