KENYA SCHOOL OF LAW Factors Influencing Students’ Performance in the Kenyan Bar Examination and Proposed Interventions Final Report September 2019 i Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................... v Abbreviations and Acronyms ......................................................................... xi 1 Background and Study Context ............................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Interpretation of Terms of Reference ............................................. 4 1.3 Methodological Approach ............................................................... 4 2 Evolution of Legal Education in Kenya and Institutional Frameworks ......... 9 2.1 Development of Legal Education in Kenya ...................................... 9 2.2 Functions of Legal Education System in Kenya ............................... 11 2.3 Institutional Framework for Legal Education and Training in Kenya . 11 2.3.1 The Council of Legal Education ..................................................12 2.3.2 The Kenya School of Law ..........................................................15 2.3.3 Restructuring of the Kenya School of Law and Council of Legal Education .............................................................................................16 2.3.4 The Law Society of Kenya ..........................................................17 2.3.5 The Commission for University Education ...................................18 3 Legal and Regulatory Framework for Legal Education in Kenya ................21 3.1 The Council of Legal Education Act (Cap 16A), 1995 (repealed) ...... 21 3.2 The Council of Legal Education (Kenya School of Law) Regulations, 2009 (the Legal Notice No. 169 of 2009) ................................................ 21 3.3 The Universities Act No. 42 of 2012............................................... 22 3.4 The Legal Education Act 2012 ....................................................... 22 3.5 The Kenya School of Law Act, 2012............................................... 23 3.6 Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2014 ...................... 24 3.7 The Kenya School of Law (Training Programmes) Regulations, 2015 24 3.8 The Legal Education (Accreditation and Quality Assurance) Regulations, 2016 ................................................................................. 25 3.9 The Advocates Act, Cap 16 ........................................................... 26 3.10 The Law Society of Kenya Act, 2014 .............................................. 27 3.11 Requirements for Legal Education and Legal Training in Kenya ....... 27 3.11.1 Course Structure and Entry Requirements ...............................27 3.12 Undergraduate Universities Offering Law Programmes ................... 36 3.12.1 Licensing and Accreditation Status ..........................................36 3.12.2 Entry Requirements ...............................................................37 ii 3.12.3 Quality Standards of Legal Education Providers ........................41 3.12.4 Law School Programme (Course) Administration and Performance in Bar Examinations ..............................................................................42 3.13 Related Studies on Factors Influencing Student Performance in Bar Examinations ........................................................................................ 43 4 Bar Examinations Performance and its Correlates ...................................53 4.1 Bar examinations performance ...................................................... 53 4.2 Factors Influencing Students’ Performance in Kenyan Bar Examinations ........................................................................................ 58 4.2.1 Legal Education at Undergraduate (University) Level ...................58 4.2.2 Structure of Advocates Training Programme and KSL Support .....64 4.2.3 Examinations ............................................................................83 4.2.4 Other Factors ............................................................................93 5 Lessons Learned from Case Studies on the Conduct and Structure of Bar Examinations in Various Jurisdictions ............................................................98 5.1 South Africa ................................................................................. 98 5.2 East Africa ................................................................................. 101 5.3 The United Kingdom (England, Wales and Ireland) ...................... 102 5.4 New Zealand .............................................................................. 104 5.5 The United States of America ...................................................... 107 5.6 Assessing Pass Rates in Various Jurisdictions ............................... 107 6 Emerging Issues, Conclusions and Recommendations to Improve Performance in the Bar Examination ........................................................... 116 References ................................................................................................ 126 Appendices ............................................................................................... 128 Annex 1: Data obtained from KSL ............................................................... 128 Annex 2: Glossary of Cases ........................................................................ 130 List of Tables Table 1: Licensing status of legal education providers as at 18th June 2019 ....36 Table 2: Performance of graduates from various universities in November 2018 Bar examinations .........................................................................................41 Table 3: Performance in November Regular Examinations/First-Sitting, 2016 - 2018 ...........................................................................................................54 Table 4: Performance in the November Resits, 2016-2018 .............................54 Table 5: Performance in July Regular Examinations/First Sitting, 2017-2019 ...55 Table 6: Performance in July Resits, 2017-2019 ............................................55 Table 7: ATP performance by Unit 2016-2019 ...............................................57 Table 8: Students’ performance in Bar examinations ......................................59 Table 9: KUCCPS Cut-Off System for Law .....................................................59 iii Table 10: Correlation between course curriculum design and performance in the bar examinations .........................................................................................68 Table 11: Suitability to administer and assess orals .......................................87 Table 12: Suitability to administer and assess project work ............................88 Table 13: Suitability to administer and assess written Bar examinations ..........89 Table 14: New Zealand Professional Legal Studies Course Content ............... 104 Table 15: Trends in Bar pass rates in South Africa ....................................... 108 Table 16: Trends in Bar Pass Rates in Ghana, 2017-2019 ............................ 108 Table 17: Trends in Bar Pass Rates in UK BPTC, 2010-2017 ......................... 108 Table 18: Overall trends in Bar Pass Rates in USA, 2016-2018 ..................... 109 Table 19: Trends in overall Bar pass rates for first time takers across various States in USA, 2016-2018 .......................................................................... 109 Table 20: Admissions disclosures from world-leading law schools offering professional legal education ....................................................................... 111 Table 21: Trends in Bar pass rates in the Philippines, 2000-2017 ................. 113 Table 22: Trends in Bar pass rates in Malaysia, 1984-2018 .......................... 114 List of Figures Figure 1: Distribution of key informants across the legal services sector .......... 6 Figure 2: Trends in ATP students and Bar examination performance, 2009-2019 ..................................................................................................................54 Figure 3: Influence of course curriculum design on performance in the Bar examinations...............................................................................................69 Figure 4: KSL performance in various aspects ...............................................74 Figure 5: The extent to which high student-lecturer ratio influences pass rate .80 Figure 6: Suitability to administer and assess orals ........................................86 Figure 7: Suitability to administer and assess project work .............................87 Figure 8: Suitability to administer and assess written Bar examinations ..........88 iv Executive Summary Legal education training programme in Kenya is a pathway to the legal profession. The programme is delivered through the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) at undergraduate level and advocates training programme. The Bachelor of Laws course is delivered through accredited universities, and the Kenya School of Law (KSL) conducts a postgraduate training for law graduates which is known as the Advocates Training Programme (ATP). The ATP trains and prepares law graduates for the written Bar Examinations which are set, administered and marked by the Council of Legal Education (CLE). Upon successful completion of the ATP which includes pupillage,