MP Proposes Bill to Ease Admission into the Kenya School of Law
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina has put forth a new legislative proposal known as the Kenya School of Law (Amendment) Bill 2023. This bill aims to amend the Kenya School of Law Act to permit the admission of students who meet specific criteria into the Kenya School of Law (KSL) for the Advocates Training Programme (ATP).
The proposed change includes allowing students who have achieved the minimum entry requirement for a Diploma in Law and those who hold a Diploma in Law from a recognized institution in Kenya, which could be a University, University college, or any other recognized entity.
Jane Njeri Maina argues that the Bill intends to streamline the process of training legal students, addressing longstanding reform requests from various stakeholders. As per the proposed bill, individuals who do not meet the current admission requirements would still be eligible for admission to the ATP if they meet the minimum entry requirement for a diploma in law.
Presently, KSL admission standards necessitate a minimum grade of B in English or Kiswahili and a mean grade of C+ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or its equivalent.
This isn’t the first legislative initiative aiming to relax the prerequisites for legal education in Kenya. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino had previously introduced the Legal Education (Amendment) Bill 2023, which sought to lower the entry criteria for Law Degrees. Babu Owino argued that removing the requirement for a grade B in English or Kiswahili would enable more students to pursue legal studies.
The rationale behind these efforts is to open up access to legal education to a broader range of students, as the current stringent standards have been excluding many potential candidates. The issue of impostors and unlicensed legal practitioners has also been a concern in Kenya, with recent cases like Brian Mwenda’s highlighting the need for vigilance in regulating the legal profession. Nevertheless, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has committed to purging the industry of fraudulent practitioners.
MP Proposes Bill to Ease Admission into the Kenya School of Law
