Law Education must be made mandatory under Article 21A
in School & College levels
Today only a few professional colleges exist in the state to conduct
legal studies. But many Arts & Science colleges produce educated graduates
and post-graduates without studying law as a subject and create a large number
of unemployed. At the same time, those who graduate from professional
colleges are confined to the courts as employers, as law is not an optional
subject at school-college levels. It is not possible to pass on the knowledge of
the generation that has acquired legal education to the new generation as law is
not an optional subject at the school and college levels.
Today's legal education remains a system that serves only to punish
criminals instead of motivating a people to live legally. This is because only the
idea of creating advocates through legal studies is emphasized.
Even after 75 years of India's independence, the general public's
knowledge about the Constitution and existing laws is very limited.
Thus the existing system of legal education through which the
administration is unable to impart awareness of the mandatory law applicable
under Sections 76 and 79 of the Indian Penal Code. Moreover, in this era where
violence against women, children and differently-abled persons are constantly
reported and this is a daily occurrence, the need to extend legal education at
school and college levels is quite relevant.
It is shocking that even educated women become perpetrators of heinous crimes including murder and manslaughter. The main reason is that legal education does not have a significant impact on our school-college curriculum.
Therefore, the existing system of legal education is not capable of
imparting awareness about the mandatory law applicable through Sections 76
and 79 of the Indian Penal Code.
Legal education not only imparts knowledge but also deters the new
generation from crime and creates a generation that obeys and enforces the law.
The knowledge imparted during the school education period will remain in their
thoughts even after they grow up.
When the actions of the said student are based on the said legal
awareness, crimes in the society will naturally decrease sharply and it will be
possible to create a good society and country as prescribed by the constitution.
By including legal studies in the syllabus at school and college levels
students will be aware of Child Rights Act, Disability Rights Act, Women
Safety Act, Information Technology Act, Anti-Drugs & Narcotics Act, Road
Safety Acts, Consumer Protection Act, Weights and Measures Acts, Marriage
Act, Patents Act, Civil Codes, Indian Constitution, Indian Penal Code and
awareness of the orders issued by the Government from time to time in
accordance with the Constitution and all the existing laws will be accessible to
the new generation from School-College curicculum itself.
According to the current Court Rules, the complainant himself has been
allowed to plead the case which he/she is a Complainant. But because the
complainants do not have proper legal awareness and have to consult lawyers,
many violations of law do not come under the consideration of the court.
But if the study of law is made a part of the universal and free education
curriculum mandated by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution at the school
and college levels, it will naturally reduce crime and create a law-aware
generation. By doing so, the complainant will be able to appear in court
voluntarily and plead his case.
If a student makes law a subject of study from upper primary period to
post graduation level, our teaching community can impart a lot of knowledge
about the current laws during this fraternal period and create a law-aware
generation.
Law education will become more fruitful and more legal scholars will
be produced if the courses in Arts & Science colleges are given equal status to
the certificate in professional law colleges, gradually raising the law as a
separate degree subject by inculcating the essence of legal education through
professional colleges.
If LLB holders are employed as teachers in schools and LLM holders in
colleges, professional legal studies will become very employable like any other
subject.
By restricting the study of law only through professional colleges, the
government fails to fulfill the principle of “Ignoria juris non-exhusat”
(Ignorance of law is not an excuse) under section 76, 79 of the Indian Penal
Code. The fact is that seminars and pamphlets do not help to implement the core
principle of the Indian Penal Code under Sections 76 and 79 that ignorance of
law is no excuse.
If the law is interpreted very simply and included in the lessons
according to the depth level of the students in different classes of the school, it
is possible to make the study of law an excellent subject not only in the field of
higher education but also at the school level. In this way, it is possible to
determine the aptitude of the students in the study of law and to raise the
standard of the students who choose law as a subject of choice in the field of
higher education.
Therefore, it is necessary to make legal education a part of the universal
free education mandated by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Legal
education must be made a part of the syllabus at school and college levels. In
this way, it will be possible to reduce the violations of the law and find a
permanent solution to the violence in the society.