There seems to be no respite in the crisis of mass Bar examination failures.
The latest casualties, according to the Council of Legal Education, are more than 60 per cent of the candidates who sat the exams in July and August. This simply means that they cannot be admitted to practise law.
The dismal performance is evident from the fact that only 33 of the 100 candidates who sat the exams for the first time passed.
It is also quite disturbing that only 846 of the 2,178 who resat the papers at the Kenya School of Law failed. This is the continuation of a problem that sparked an uproar and calls for investigations.
Before this latest revelation, the Senate was investigating why nearly 90 per cent of the students who had passed their university examinations with flying colours suddenly came badly unstuck on going to the KSL.
Yet, it is at this institution that the finishing touches are expected to be applied on the new lawyers before they are admitted to the Bar.
This is not a matter the council can take lightly. It is important that the investigation into the failures be speeded up to get to the bottom of the matter, as the problem has gone on for eight years.
There is a need to bring a closure to the matter, as it’s not possible that the Bar examinations have become too difficult for the students, who join after graduating from university.
It will be interesting to know whether this is part of a scam by crooks profiting from the high fees for resitting the exams, as has been alleged.
The time to put this issue to rest is now. Justice must be done and seen to be done.
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