Law students’ protest in Battaramulla

Students of the Sri Lanka Law College staged a protest in Battaramulla yesterday (7) demanding that the final examination of the law college be held in Sinhala and Tamil too. According to a news story published in the Divaina newspaper yesterday, Justice Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapaksha has promised them to find a solution to their demand within a week.

The government has recently made English as the only medium of instruction at the law college. In the past the students were able to sit for the law college final examination in Sinhala or Tamil or English. But now they have to sit for this examination only in English.

When we study the profile of the  students studying at the law college, some of them have done the LLB degree at universities here, some have done the LLB degree at foreign universities in the English medium and the rest of them have got through the law college entrance examination including an English language paper and have qualified to study law directly at the law college.

The LLB degree holders from our universities have studied English as a separate module in addition to the English language orientation programme they have attended. The LLB degree holders from foreign universities have studied in the English medium. The students who were directly admitted to the law College have passed English language paper for the law college entrance examination. If they still find it difficult to study in the English medium at the law college, then there should be a serious problem with the teaching of English at universities. For instance, students studying for the LLB degree at the open university of Sri Lanka have to successfully complete the English for Academic Purposes (legal studies) programme. This programme has two parts and each is of six months duration. I wonder why the LLB degree holders from the OUSL are reluctant to follow the attorney at law course at the law college in the English medium.

Therefore, Justice Minister should first make arrangements to hold an English language proficiency test to the protesting students to find out their level of English knowledge, and call for a report from the law faculty of universities to know what went wrong.

M. A. Kaleel

kaleelmohammed757@gmail.com

Kalmunai – 05