Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review

Nasiru Tijani; Gbemi Odusote

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

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Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review

Nasiru Tijani, Gbemi Odusote

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 5, Issue 4)

Received: 27 September 2022 Accepted: 20 October 2022 Published: 28 October 2022

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Abstract

The number of Law Faculties in Nigeria have increased exponentially since the first four Law Faculties were established in the country in the early sixties. Accreditation is a pre-condition for the take-off of such faculties, and it is undertaken by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The roles of these institutions are complimentary, and one is not superior to the other. It is necessary to interrogate the process of accrediting the Law Faculties to ensure that the desired goals for their establishment are met and sustained. While adopting doctrinal approach, this article discusses the process of accreditation of Law Faculties in Nigeria and argues that while the criteria have been clearly stated, implementing them is fraught with subjectivity and challenges that include unethical behaviour by the Universities and the high cost of undertaking the exercise both on the Universities and the accrediting bodies. This paper recommends that establishment of new Law Faculties should be suspended while the existing ones are strengthened. These call for political will on government and promoters of universities. In addition, consistency in the implementation of the standards may be achieved by departing from ad hoc panels to a permanent body.

Published in	International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 5, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12
Page(s)	350-358
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Accreditation, Basic Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS), Council of Legal Education, National Universities Commission

References

[1]	OE Obadara and AA Alaka, ‘Accreditation and quality assurance in Nigerian Universities’ (2013) 4 (8) Journal of Education and Practice, 34.
[2]	Bryan Garner (ed), Black’s Law Dictionary, (9th edn (St Paul, West Publishing Co. 2009) 23.
[3]	Judith Areen, 'Accreditation Reconsidered' (2011) 96 Iowa L Rev 1471, 1481.
[4]	SA Buetow and J Wellingham, ‘Accreditation of General Practices: Challenges and Lessons’, (2003) 12 Qual Saf Health Care, 129, 130.
[5]	Jay Conison, 'The Architecture of Accreditation' (2011) 96 Iowa L Rev 1515, 1519.
[6]	Ronald A. Cass, 'The How and Why of Law School Accreditation' (1995) 45 J Legal Educ 418.
[7]	Judith W Wegner, ‘Law School Assessment in the Context of Accreditation’ (2018) 67 (2) Journal of Legal Education 412.
[8]	Ojukwu Ernest, ‘Trends in Legal Education: A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria, USA, UK and South Africa’ in Nigerian Law School Four Decades of Service to the Legal Profession, Council of Legal Education (2003) p. 134.
[9]	Sola Akinrinade, ‘The Integrity Imperative in Nigerian Higher Education: Towards Creating New Normal’, being text of a lecture delivered on the occasion of the 28th and 29th Convocation ceremonies of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, on 31 January 2020, page 8.
[10]	Niki Tobi, ‘Meeting the Needs of the Profession and the Nation: A view from the Bench’ in Nigerian Law School, Four Decade of Service to the Legal Profession (Abuja, Council of Legal Education, 2004) 7.
[11]	Okonjo v Council of Legal Education FCA/16/78 (1979) Digest of Appeal Cases 28.
[12]	Thomas L. Shaffer, 'Four Issues in the Accreditation of Law Schools' (1981) 59 Wash U L Q 887.

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APA Style

Nasiru Tijani, Gbemi Odusote. (2022). Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. International Journal of Law and Society, 5(4), 350-358. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

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ACS Style

Nasiru Tijani; Gbemi Odusote. Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. Int. J. Law Soc. 2022, 5(4), 350-358. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

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AMA Style

Nasiru Tijani, Gbemi Odusote. Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. Int J Law Soc. 2022;5(4):350-358. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12,
  author = {Nasiru Tijani and Gbemi Odusote},
  title = {Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {5},
  number = {4},
  pages = {350-358},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20220504.12},
  abstract = {The number of Law Faculties in Nigeria have increased exponentially since the first four Law Faculties were established in the country in the early sixties. Accreditation is a pre-condition for the take-off of such faculties, and it is undertaken by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The roles of these institutions are complimentary, and one is not superior to the other. It is necessary to interrogate the process of accrediting the Law Faculties to ensure that the desired goals for their establishment are met and sustained. While adopting doctrinal approach, this article discusses the process of accreditation of Law Faculties in Nigeria and argues that while the criteria have been clearly stated, implementing them is fraught with subjectivity and challenges that include unethical behaviour by the Universities and the high cost of undertaking the exercise both on the Universities and the accrediting bodies. This paper recommends that establishment of new Law Faculties should be suspended while the existing ones are strengthened. These call for political will on government and promoters of universities. In addition, consistency in the implementation of the standards may be achieved by departing from ad hoc panels to a permanent body.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review
AU  - Nasiru Tijani
AU  - Gbemi Odusote
Y1  - 2022/10/28
PY  - 2022
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T2  - International Journal of Law and Society
JF  - International Journal of Law and Society
JO  - International Journal of Law and Society
SP  - 350
EP  - 358
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-1908
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12
AB  - The number of Law Faculties in Nigeria have increased exponentially since the first four Law Faculties were established in the country in the early sixties. Accreditation is a pre-condition for the take-off of such faculties, and it is undertaken by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The roles of these institutions are complimentary, and one is not superior to the other. It is necessary to interrogate the process of accrediting the Law Faculties to ensure that the desired goals for their establishment are met and sustained. While adopting doctrinal approach, this article discusses the process of accreditation of Law Faculties in Nigeria and argues that while the criteria have been clearly stated, implementing them is fraught with subjectivity and challenges that include unethical behaviour by the Universities and the high cost of undertaking the exercise both on the Universities and the accrediting bodies. This paper recommends that establishment of new Law Faculties should be suspended while the existing ones are strengthened. These call for political will on government and promoters of universities. In addition, consistency in the implementation of the standards may be achieved by departing from ad hoc panels to a permanent body.
VL  - 5
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Nasiru Tijani

Litigation Department, Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria
Gbemi Odusote

Property Law Practice Department, Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria

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APA Style

Nasiru Tijani, Gbemi Odusote. (2022). Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. International Journal of Law and Society, 5(4), 350-358. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

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ACS Style

Nasiru Tijani; Gbemi Odusote. Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. Int. J. Law Soc. 2022, 5(4), 350-358. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Nasiru Tijani, Gbemi Odusote. Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review. Int J Law Soc. 2022;5(4):350-358. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12,
  author = {Nasiru Tijani and Gbemi Odusote},
  title = {Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {5},
  number = {4},
  pages = {350-358},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20220504.12},
  abstract = {The number of Law Faculties in Nigeria have increased exponentially since the first four Law Faculties were established in the country in the early sixties. Accreditation is a pre-condition for the take-off of such faculties, and it is undertaken by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The roles of these institutions are complimentary, and one is not superior to the other. It is necessary to interrogate the process of accrediting the Law Faculties to ensure that the desired goals for their establishment are met and sustained. While adopting doctrinal approach, this article discusses the process of accreditation of Law Faculties in Nigeria and argues that while the criteria have been clearly stated, implementing them is fraught with subjectivity and challenges that include unethical behaviour by the Universities and the high cost of undertaking the exercise both on the Universities and the accrediting bodies. This paper recommends that establishment of new Law Faculties should be suspended while the existing ones are strengthened. These call for political will on government and promoters of universities. In addition, consistency in the implementation of the standards may be achieved by departing from ad hoc panels to a permanent body.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Accreditation of Law Programmes in Nigeria: A Case for Review
AU  - Nasiru Tijani
AU  - Gbemi Odusote
Y1  - 2022/10/28
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12
T2  - International Journal of Law and Society
JF  - International Journal of Law and Society
JO  - International Journal of Law and Society
SP  - 350
EP  - 358
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-1908
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20220504.12
AB  - The number of Law Faculties in Nigeria have increased exponentially since the first four Law Faculties were established in the country in the early sixties. Accreditation is a pre-condition for the take-off of such faculties, and it is undertaken by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The roles of these institutions are complimentary, and one is not superior to the other. It is necessary to interrogate the process of accrediting the Law Faculties to ensure that the desired goals for their establishment are met and sustained. While adopting doctrinal approach, this article discusses the process of accreditation of Law Faculties in Nigeria and argues that while the criteria have been clearly stated, implementing them is fraught with subjectivity and challenges that include unethical behaviour by the Universities and the high cost of undertaking the exercise both on the Universities and the accrediting bodies. This paper recommends that establishment of new Law Faculties should be suspended while the existing ones are strengthened. These call for political will on government and promoters of universities. In addition, consistency in the implementation of the standards may be achieved by departing from ad hoc panels to a permanent body.
VL  - 5
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download