THE Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Dr Damas Ndumbaro has formed a team of seven law experts, to investigate poor results for students who took the bar exam at the Law School of Tanganyika (LST).
The team is led by Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, who served in various ministerial capacities. Other members are Retired Judge Sirilius Matupa, Zanzibar Ethics Commission Chairman, Mr Assaa Rashid, and Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) Vice-President, Ms Gloria Karabamu.
Also in the list are Ms Alice Mkulo from the Solicitor General Office, Mary Mniwasa, a long-serving lawyer and Chief Executive Officer at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) and John Kaombwe, a 33 cohort LST graduate.
Dr Ndumbaro said the team which will start the task today will be handed over the terms of reference by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms Mary Makondo to establish the truth about law school students and come up with the finds and recommendations. They will carry the task within the next 30-day.
The team, which the minister described as composed of members whose reputation are impeccable, will be subjected to conduct the assignment with fairness, impartial and objectively.
He said the team has been formed to get the details and inside stories in regard to complaints raised by the conflicting parties.
“The team does not consist of any member from LST staff or lecturers, universities law faculties. The objective is to avoid conflict of interests,” he insisted
Minister Ndumbaro said they have worked on issues raised and it was clear that there are seven parties with conflicting arguments, citing poor results from students was due to incapable teachers, half-cooked students at law faculties, minimum entry qualification, employers complaining of law graduates’ incompetence and lecture happy to see students fail their exams.
After working on the basic facts, Dr Ndumbaro said it was clear that since the Law School of Tanzania was formed, a total of 13,974 students went through the college and 8,278 passed the exams which represent 59.074 per cent.
Moreover he said, 21.61 per cent are required to retake the exams and majority of them according to the minister have the potential to pass their supplementary thus clocking 81 per cent of pass mark. Total failures stands at 19 per cent.
“When we debate on the failure which is normal in every academic institution, we have to take in consideration that this is a professional board exams, as it is the case with other cadres like accountancy, procurement, why raising alarm in law,” he questioned
The minister said the students also have a room for appeal, thus submitting their cases in a number of unofficial platforms is something vague, saying the law schools exams failure is also the case with countries like Kenya, Zambia, Ghana among others.
Speaking on LST lecturers’ shortage, the minister said the college has 95 both permanent and part time employees that are well experienced and competent enough, insisting that the issue of quality and quantity does not hold water.
“At least 14 of the lecturers are law experts and professionals, who know their duties well and 81 are part time,” he said.
Of the 81 part time staff, it includes ten judges of which, three are still practicing, 11 resident magistrate, four principal state attorneys, and 56 senior counsels with vast knowledge and professional experience to coach the upcoming learned experts.
“Passing exams is a relative term, many fail in their first seating…that is a legal practicing school, they have to know the technicalities so that the college gives out the best who can serve the nation for the better,” he underscored
“It is as if some want the students being offered certificates in a silver plate, is this, the new precedent public call or, what products are we going to offer in the market and the standard of our products,” he questioned.
The graduates, he said, are intended to be engaged in a number of contracts signing, negotiations, submissions and it is at the law school, where such experiences are found, thus he said having knowledgeable law experts cannot be debated.
