BCI derecognized around 30 law colleges

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has derecognized around 30 law colleges across the country as they had failed to meet the minimum academic standards stipulated by the council. The Council has also issued notices to 20 other colleges across the country as they too had failed to provide quality law education and did not meet the BCI standards. BCI's regulating body for legal profession and education in the country, the Legal Education Committee, has taken the decision to derecognize the colleges on the basis of reports submitted by its inspection teams. The Bar Council has also appealed to students of the derecognized colleges that their decision is no cause of worry for them sine the existing courses at the colleges will not be disrupted. This spells good news for all 5000 students who are currently pursuing law courses at these institutes. The agenda of the two meetings in which the decision was taken stated that the teams investigating the institutes in question looked at the basic benchmarks, such as whether all posts of the teaching faculty are filled, basic qualifications of teachers, building and infrastructural facilities of the institute, library facilities, etc. The committee was headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.P. Misra. it decided to conduct a review in all 900 institutes that provide legal education in the country on the criteria stipulated by the BCI. Professor V.B. Coutinho, chairman of BCI's Directorate of Legal Education said that the conduction of inspections will be a continuous process. "We want to decrease the number of legal institutes that are mushrooming all over India that provide legal education without proper infrastructure, faculty and other necessary facilities," he said. On being questioned about the number of students that will be affected by the council's decision, he said that the institutions which had been derecognized can continue their courses for the current batch of students only.