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The Rationale For Offering the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours Degree Over the Period of Five Years

By: Dr Marvin Awarab

Questions have been raised in contemporary society about law graduates’ readiness to enter the market and offer credible solutions to society’s problems.

From issues being raised around lawyers’ ability to engage with complex contemporary issues informed by Math, Science as well as technology-related aspects of the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolutions, critical questions have been raised with respect to the readiness of law students to be employed as prosecutors, attorneys, advocates, legal advisors, legal drafters, company secretaries, legal researchers and policy analysts in the 21st Century.

To close the skills gap, Welwitchia University after undertaking a series of benchmarking studies has resolved to weigh in and contribute to human capital investment in the area of law by offering a rigorous law degree which goes beyond the traditional narratives of legal education.

The 5 year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours degree programme offers students with benefits of studying law which include a rigorous academic experience, the development of transferable skills such as communication and critical thinking, technological awareness, as well as a wide range of professional opportunities, added to the ability for graduates to promote justice and have a positive social influence in the 21st Century Namibian society.

Law has become diverse and complex in a technological era. It influences every part of society. For this reason, the LLB Honours curriculum at Welwitchia University has been designed in such a way as to ensure that law graduates acquire a comprehensive appreciation of the various disciplines with which the law interacts.

Teaching law over a period of five years enables the Faculty of Law to equip students with the necessary skills, knowledge and practical abilities to enable them to respond to industry needs and demands.

Due to the intricacies and nobility of the legal profession, institutions of higher learning must prepare law students who are both theoretically and practically ready for the world of work.

This exercise becomes very difficult if not impossible to achieve over four years, especially when one considers the effect that technology has had on the legal profession in the 21st Century.

Key aspects such as good ethical behaviour, computer literacy skills and both the foundational and complex legal modules need to be taught over a period of at least five years as opposed to the traditional four years to ensure that we adequately and effectively achieve the set exit level learning outcomes which are responsive to market demands.

The Faculty of Law at Welwitchia University therefore guarantees all stakeholders that all students who will be legally trained by the University will be fully equipped with the necessary skills to enable them to contribute to the socio-economic development of Namibia as provided for in the National Development Plan 5 and Agenda 2063.

Stakeholders and prospective clients are encouraged to visit the admissions office or the office of the Acting Dean/Deputy Dean: Faculty of Law, for further clarity in respect of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours qualification.

 

Dr Marvin Awarab is the Associate Professor of Law and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Welwitchia University (WU).

 

 

 

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