Mass failure at Nigerian Law School as over 3,000 students fail bar exam | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Saturday 18 October 2014

Mass failure at Nigerian Law School as over 3,000 students fail bar exam

Apparently there was mass failure at the Nigerian Law School this year. The Nigerian Law School recently released the 2013/2014 August result, and it was a Tsunami. Out of the 5,000 candidates who registered, only about 2,000 passed. Meaning that about 3,000 students failed the bar exam, the highest failure the Nigerian Law School has witnessed since its 50 years of existence.

Many of the students are angry and frustrated. They say they don't believe the mass failure is the fault of the students and are now asking for a review of their results. An affected student who reached out to LIB said; Continue...


"People have worked their butt off for this exam, people have ran literally mad for this exam, these same people have invested their life savings for this exam, people who lost their parents prior to this exam had to muster the strength to write this exam and the Director general of the Nigerian law school who is responsible for the this mass failure doesn't see reasons with these people. He said he's raising a standard but all we see is a high standard of failure!"
Another student said
"Do we say 3000 students payed N300,000 not counting expenses for a year, feeding,books, then prepared to fail? We are calling for a review"

254 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   201 – 254 of 254
IYA IBEJI said...

I was called to the bar in 2009 and I totally concur with the issue of the corporate law lecturers, useless people! I passed though, glory to God! But I know my results could have been better if not for the useless corporate law lecturers Lagos campus in particular..m

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with u,law school is not about plenty reading. If u don't understand d question n start blabbing you will fail... Thank God I passed this exam sha

Ada said...

Hmmmm
Clearly folks aren't used to failing in nigerian law schools. Go and see failing rate for New York bar exam. Biko don't shoot me, just saying. Obviously other 2,000 did something right. Now won't it be better to compare their approach to the ones who fails instead??

Anonymous said...

I sat for this exams, and NLS humbled me with a PASS, I thank God I made it, when I think of my friends that did not it breaks my heart. That DG is from the pit of hell, those people that failed did not deserve it, I know a girl who knew the whole book and sections, during revision classes she was reciting along with our lecturers, she scared the shit out of me, and she failed. They are people brighter than myself that failed and my heart bleeds for them, I know someone who has refused to believe it's his result, we read together, we drank red bull, power horse just name it. I know what power horse did to me, I nearly jumped off the seminar room building because I had exceeded my limit, that is the effort law student put in. They didn't plan for this, my LLB result was lovely and NLS gave me a pass for bar finals, so did I undergo brain surgery. Lives have been ruined here and most people don't understand that, do you know even though they resit this exams no matter how well they write they will still end up with a PASS, 4,000 passes? We did not deserve this, this DG started mid way with this set and look at what he did, I pray for this next set. To those that failed this exams, u did not fail NLS failed

start-ups said...

Kindly return the classroom and do the needful.
For the fact that you paid a paltry N300.000 as school fees does not offer you a pass.
Read better now.

Anonymous said...

I am also a Bar 1 student who passed. I took the exam seriously, studied with the course syllabus from day one and felt confident before and after the exam. When I saw my 2.2, I was totally shocked. I believed I would get a 2.1 at the very least. I am even qualified to practice in the United States. This exam is not a measure of intelligence. The worst part about the exam is that our final score is based on our LOWEST grade, not an average of our five exams (e.g. If you made 70's on four exams, but a 50 on the fifth exam, you would only get a PASS).

Here are a few facts regarding the exams:
1. When school started in October, the students were told that we would have 60 minutes to take a 100 question MCQ.
2. THREE DAYS before the exam, the DG informed the students in the Abuja campus that the MCQ would only be 50 minutes. 10 minutes makes a huge difference on an MCQ.
3. There was no formal announcement to the other campuses that the MCQ was now 50 minutes. Students in the other campus were told by their friends via bbm.
4. There is no transparency in the marking system. We do not know how we were marked and have been told that we will not be called to bar if we request a transcript before the call to bar.

Anonymous said...

Our reading habit is poor indeed,if law school can set the exam in a musical term,dem go pass.Lol.wetin we youth sabi pass na to sing and dance.I be lie?

Anonymous said...

DG of NLS, we all need a review on this exams, 1. Before you would have increased the passing grade from 40% to 5o% the student should have been informed immediately after their 1st dinner so I urged you to return it to 40% then inform the next set and start 50% with them,we where not informed, 2. Even student that had to receit this exams they failed last year because the pass mark was 40% why still put them on 50% when what they failed was 40%, 3. Mr DG I still believe that you don't even know the law yourself why increasing the pass grade and not inform the student or lecturers? Didn't we pay money to be taught? Was it free? Then to everyone saying this law student deserve to fail,the total student with people that receit are 8000+ so 2,175 passed and 6000 are all stupid? I know of a neighbour that said she wrote nothing that she still shocked she passed,if nigeria don't do anything about this then the nation is a failed one.if the society does not wake up and make this stop then nigeria is not worth living in it, Americans don't they have law schools? Have you heard this kind of news before? Let DG review that exams,cos thousands of tears will never go like that

Unknown said...

U r a disgrace to unizik kwanu

Anonymous said...

shut ur mouth idiot. go to law skool and see if u will even have time for social medias...

Unknown said...

Well said, if u didn't take this bar exams ur do not av the standi to post a comment, cos i've not seen any one who took the exams who won't complain even those dat passed. ONADEKO the DG himself neva wrote Bar Exams in his time.

Ugooooo said...

If and only if they wld leave Facebook, Twitter and blog sites to concentrate on their studies... WAEC recorded mass failure this year too. Is the NLS DG responsible for that? The truth is that students don't read these day. Period! We now have smart phones and dumb pple. That's simply the reason. God help us.

Unknown said...

A state of emergency should be declared on the education system in this country. I find it difficult to understand how someone makes it through tertiary institutions with the type of English they speak and write these days. Check out contributions made on this blog by those who passed or failed the Law School exams. You will either understand why they failed, or be shocked they passed at all. Our schools and professional bodies are bedevilled by absolute quacks, lecturers and authorities inclusive.

lori said...

I passed the bar exams a few years ago and I am glad to say I read like I didn't pray and I prayed like I didn't read.Such is the nature of Bar final exams.
People fail exams for various reasons however,these reasons should not be inflicted by the examiners.
At the last bar exam students had to write their Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) in 50mins instead of the usual sixty insufficient minutes. Suffice to say that students were not given sufficient notice of this important change prior to the examination. In addition, during the theory papers students had an additional excruciating 30- 45mins wait in the examination halls before the almighty question papers arrived. This meant that exams ended at 6:30 -7pm as opposed to the usual 6pm.
Exams finished, external markers marked for almost 2 months but the results from the marking was not satisfactory to the Director General so,he apparently asked some internal markers to remark the scripts within ONE WEEK with very harsh marking guide.
This to me only speaks injustice on every parallel. Is it really possible that over 4000 students failed to prepared for this professional exams?
Or is the GD only bringing to life his threats at the Anglican church he was witnessed to have attended where he made questionable statements?
Some students might have failed to prepare adequately however,I refuse to accept that at least 800 students from each of the five campuses were unprepared.
In my humble opinion  Onadeko is trying to make a statement to showcase the inefficiency of his successor but this should not  be at the expense of the students.
I therefore submit that the results and scripts be revisited and amended accordingly.
I rest my case.

Anonymous said...

I have no words for anybody who thinks we deserved to fail...God knows best

Anonymous said...

Mobile Phones @work. People no longer study. Pinging, Twitting n LIBing nw d oda of d day.
Twas WAEC, nw Law School. Nxt will be 'dis thing'..... Aldou

Anonymous said...

@Diary of a mad law student. Even if U wia made to starve 4 40days, 2000 people passed d exams, dats 40%. In many interviews n aptitude tests, d only want 3-5% of d total population, and people mk it. Berra goan start preparing 4 nxt year (kwado maka afo ozo). Or berra still stay on dis blog 24/7 and den still blame it on d DG. Olodo

Oguh Ifeanyi Joseph (Prince Igwenna-nna 1 ) said...

Apart from being an advanced institution ,Law school is an institution of higher learning ,having its peculiarity and maximazed uniqueness in its academic tough-touch of vocational garden of consistence hard work in a separated or isolated workshop.Therefore one might be intelligent but lacks brilliance needed to over come inherent failure enshrined into every question asked in Bar Final. Hence, that one fails in BF does not sentence one to brain poverty but rather defines perfectly what a vocational institute is all about. For the sake of methodological clarity,and better understanding ,let us get it straight ,Bar Final is NOT a true test of a good lawyer in the making.Here,Actuality precedes Potentiality. Not that they failed(3000+) rather they did not make it. Yes,take it or leave it ,everything in vocation has to do with dexterity,technicality and exactitude . No pass no failure. That is why one goes back to resit in other to resist all things . However, I enjoin, the principals and agents of NLS to review quickly the principles backing this new development in the academic standard of NLS in total avoidance of future occur acne of this kind of vocational genocide in the corridore of our legal profession in Nigeria.

Anonymous said...

When you ask - "Do you know... how much to resit; what grade they passed with" et al...

NEWS FLASH: Someone is celebrating his First Class somewhere and you are here on Linda Ikeji hurling insults and looking for Pity Parties...

Get a grip of your life and dare to be excellent and outstanding.

Anonymous said...

Tied.... hear.... issokay. How will u meet standards with dis ur spellings?

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 11.05 am.
Yours is Clearly the comment of a charge and bail lawyer... May God heal you pain though.

I rest my case!!!

Anonymous said...

To all those Law school students who failed their bar exams and came here to rant and hurl insults at people's comments and reactions, it only goes to show you just attended and passed through "school" but the school never passed through you.

There's a reason lawyers call themselves "Learned Colleagues". Those are the ones who Excelled and are outstanding in both character, discipline, assiduous study and learning.

May God give you understanding as you heal and settle down to pass through the Law School and help you to graduate "IN CHARACTER AND LEARNING".

I rest my case.

Subomi said...

The new DG is mad! fine yes raise the standards but fail that much people in one year?!!!!! he is sick

Anonymous said...

ATTENTION MR. BONERO: if you are not a lawyer who have no right to even open your mouth and mention reading culture as it concerns lawyers. Law school is not junior waec or HND. It is a Post Graduate Program for people who have already graduated from Universities all over the country. You are talking about graduates who know what being a law student involves. This has nothing to do with reading culture.

Anonymous said...

AS FOR ALL YOU SENIOR LAWYERS WHO ARE SO QUICK TO CONCLUDE THAT THE STUDENTS ARE LAZY. PLS BE INFORMED THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON NOW IN THE NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL. THE BAR EXAM YOU TOOK IS NOT THE SAME EXAM THEY TOOK. THE MATTER REQUIRES INVESTIGATION TO ASCERTAIN WETHER OR NOT THE STUDENTS WERE ACTUALLY DOWNMARKED. In every exam people pass and people fail. But when 70% of people fail then COMMON LOGIC SHOULD TELL YOU THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS HAPPENING. I am one of the students who wrote the exams and i passed by a hairs breath. I cant understand why, because the exam to me was so cheap i was expecting a 2.1 but i saw a pass.

Anonymous said...

God bless you for this comment.

Anonymous said...

I am sure you are not a lawyer. No body in the profession can support that fool bonario. Perhaps it is a deep seated envy for those in the profession that make u all so unkind and uncaring. All your jealousy will amount to nothing. Law school is a dehumanizing experience that nobody should go through twice. Do not envy those who have things you did not have in your time. So because they were pinging should they fail? Are u forgetting that these same 'pinging' set wrote 2 pre-bar exams that did not record such an alarming rate of failure. So why then would u attribute this mass failure to pinging? Abi where there no blackberries last year to ping with when people were passing? Mscheeew. Dont get me upset please. You should know all too well that nobody plays with bar exam. Most people even forget that they have phones etc for the better part of law school. Dont mock the efforts of so many without thinking things through. #BRINGBACKOURRESULT

Anonymous said...

God bless you for your comment.

Oluchukwu2027 said...

Increasing standards... Yes. But not this way. The DG, Mr. Onadeko should have led the way in creating these standards.

He did not. Even as the DDG of Lagos Campus of the Nigeria Law School, and with the Revenue accruing to the School, he did not do much to improve the lot of the students there. I was also there. He was just one snobbish and pompous fellow.

Let the Council meet and review the scripts with the pre-Onadeko era and pass those who have passed.

Then let Onadeko introduce his changes starting from living standards in the school, improved teaching etc to grading

justaijay said...

Everyone who commented in favor of Bonario, i wish u and ur generations exactly the same thing that happened to my colleagues who didnt make it. After that, u'll know how it feels. U must not comment on every topic especially when u are ignorant of true facts.

justaijay said...

With due respect Mr "I am a Lawyer too", trust me u r empty. U are just a charlatan

Anonymous said...

Please shut up,you're just a foolish person
That they failed isn't entirely their fault so don't blame everything on bbm or twitter

Anonymous said...

Well said!

abujakenneth said...

Please kudos to my teachers at law school, Bob Osamor and Okorie. Okorie for defining appurtenances to my understanding and Osamor for criminal elucidation of offences and penalties

Anonymous said...

That's a bit harsh!

Unknown said...

See gobe.....

Anonymous said...

Before most of you retards talk have a read of the law material and inquire a bit more about important details concerning the lectures, exams and the results. There were individuals that attended the Nigerian Law School who attained first classes and 2:1's from the most prestigious universities from different parts of the world.

They also put themselves through hell for a whole year, reading, studying and painstakingly towing in harsh unimaginable conditions, only to come out with a pass or in most cases a fail at the end of their law school year. These individuals have had spotless CVs, countless work experience and made sure that they maintained a high level of performance and output throughout their entire lives, yet due to the flawed ideology and idiocy of one man who probably has no clue about how educational systems work or how they are structured; making uninformed, Irrational and inappropriate changes to an educational system which is already in tatters, they have a blemish on their picture perfect CVs, which they worked so hard to maintain. Even those in the system who have toiled all their lives to maintain excellence and have struggled just to make ends meets in order to secure a better future for themselves and their families have been dealt.

However, the truth at the end of the day is if the DG's aim was to discredit these people, who have worked so hard to make a name for themselves, he has failed. All he has done is make the law School appear highly incompetent and less credible, as the prior results attained by those individuals from institutions run by better, more organized, more effective and highly credible educational systems and examination boards have already told their true story.

And that story is that they are good, no matter what the Nigerian Law School has presented. The DG has only succeeded in disgracing the country by showing how disastrously poor the system is. If 2000 students fail out of 6000 and out of that 2000 over 1900 or so got passes with less than 10 individuals with 2:1s and unknown number of first class candidates , it is clear that the system has failed its students and the DG instead of putting his head up with pride, should bury his head in shame. I'm not surprised as the DG position is a political one anyway. Perhaps maybe some day we will be blessed to have a competent and more rational individual heading at least one our social institutions.

Well done to those that passed and for those that didn't, keep your heads up. The failure in the system can never be enough to deter you from achieving greatness. You control your destiny (with God's guidance).

God bless

Unknown said...

You read my thought!they are busy spreading deir pictures on instagram as if they are spreading pants.hehehehehe
Like we didn't go to lawschool

Anonymous said...

So Ugoooo why are you here dumb f**k.

I'm not a law student but I saw how they studied and I knew some of their 2013/2014 candidates even 1 from Harvard. She got a pass, just a pass and she definitely deserved a hell of a lot more. Open a book and talk intelligently and don't post ignorant, uninformed comments please.

You risk sounding like a below par individual.

Anonymous said...

Oguh Ifeanyi Joseph (Prince Igwenna-nna 1 )
Dude your English is beyond wack lol and what you are saying makes little or no sense.

Anonymous said...

Actually that is exactly how the lagos law school campus is currently. Please do not comment if you are uninformed.

Anonymous said...

THINK LIKE A LAWYER, SUE COUNCIL OF LEGAL EDUCATION,
by CHINEDUM IKE-OKAFOR

Three days after the release and publication of the notorious Bar Part II 2014 examination results, and all I hear is a mis-directed protest. In my sober contemplation, I ponder on all the broadcast and appeal to media houses requesting them to announce and declare, thus sensitize, that the BAR RESULT is poor, not our reflection and should be reviewed. So I ask myself, since when did we become 'Journalist-Lawyers'? Does the 2014 set of Nigerian Lawyers fall short of Real Human Right Activists?

What can media houses really do for us? Shouldn't we be more interested in seeking for legal relieves from the court; through instituting a representative action against the Council of Legal Education and joining the Body of Benchers, DG Nigerian Law School and any other person as a necessary party? Shouldn't we be more interested on how to prove a case of BREACH OF CONTRACT. On the fact that the original MCQ time was 1hour(as stipulated on the time table) but was changed in the exam hall to 50minutes; thereby, mentally and physically destabilizing us and hindering many of us from answering all the questions. Terms of a contract cannot be changed half way into the contract unless the parties concur. Did we agree to the change of time? Therefore do we have a valid case? Yes we do. Our primary knowledge from Law of Contract should not be forgotten, please. The court can award damages and/or specific performance, ordering the Council and co-defendants to administer a fresh MCQ on the agreed 1hour time, which will enable many finish and of course, pass. The court, in its wisdom, may evaluate that the cost of administering a fresh MCQ might affect the general law school calendar ( bearing in mind those students there now and the new November academic set) then decide to award 10marks bonus on each and every course on all the candidates against the defendants as damages.

If our thoughts tell us, in truth, that our best help is litigation, shouldn't we think of how to retain the services of a good attorney, file an exparte motion, get an interim injunction (which can further become an interlocutory injunction) stopping the Council and its proxies from commencing the screening process cum call to bar exercise, pending the determination of the Law suit? Even though the certificate says otherwise for some, are we not lawyers? If your response is on the affirmative, then think Lawyer, please. If a case of BREACH OF CONTRACT cannot hold water, can we not think of other ways to make our cries heard in the temple of justice by flooding our tears on her scale; rather than seek salvation in media houses and senseless public messages and cartoons. For some of us who passed. Yes we passed, but are we really happy with our grades? Don't we know we worked for and deserve better?
WE ARE LAWYERS. Let us learn to think, talk and act like one.

*share if you believe*

Anonymous said...

I think the situation with the Nigerian Law School at the moment is so disgraceful that all I can do is to attribute this mass failure to both lecturers and the so called outrageous DG. Lecturers come into class pronouncing legal words wrongly with their poor spoken english, expecting students to pass when these students hardly understood what was being said by lecturers. There were a couple of untrained lecturers who "supposedly" had 1st class in their Bar final exams that were assigned to take lectures in class, I feel this was very unprofessional for a law school of that calibre. The law school campus alone was an eye sore, the toilets stunk and the library was near enough to a toy room. This whole experience was unbelievable to me and many others. The overall law school staff could not offer any better to their students as you cannot offer what you do not have. The whole law school setting is a failure, which justifies the mass failure in the August Bar final exams. Shame on Nigerian Law school.

Anonymous said...

I think the situation with the Nigerian Law School at the moment is so disgraceful that all I can do is to attribute this mass failure to both lecturers and the so called outrageous DG. Lecturers come into class pronouncing legal words wrongly with their poor spoken english, expecting students to pass when these students hardly understood what was being said by lecturers. There were a couple of untrained lecturers who "supposedly" had 1st class in their Bar final exams that were assigned to take lectures in class, I feel this was very unprofessional for a law school of that calibre. The law school campus alone was an eye sore, the toilets stunk and the library was near enough to a toy room. This whole experience was unbelievable to me and many others. The overall law school staff could not offer any better to their students as you cannot offer what you do not have. The whole law school setting is a failure, which justifies the mass failure in the August Bar final exams. Shame on Nigerian Law school.

Anonymous said...

I think the situation with the Nigerian Law School at the moment is so disgraceful that all I can do is to attribute this mass failure to both lecturers and the so called outrageous DG. Lecturers come into class pronouncing legal words wrongly with their poor spoken english, expecting students to pass when these students hardly understood what was being said by lecturers. There were a couple of untrained lecturers who "supposedly" had 1st class in their Bar final exams that were assigned to take lectures in class, I feel this was very unprofessional for a law school of that calibre. The law school campus alone was an eye sore, the toilets stunk and the library was near enough to a toy room. This whole experience was unbelievable to me and many others. The overall law school staff could not offer any better to their students as you cannot offer what you do not have. The whole law school setting is a failure, which justifies the mass failure in the August Bar final exams. Shame on Nigerian Law school.

Anonymous said...

I think the situation with the Nigerian Law School at the moment is so disgraceful that all I can do is to attribute this mass failure to both lecturers and the so called outrageous DG. Lecturers come into class pronouncing legal words wrongly with their poor spoken english, expecting students to pass when these students hardly understood what was being said by lecturers. There were a couple of untrained lecturers who "supposedly" had 1st class in their Bar final exams that were assigned to take lectures in class, I feel this was very unprofessional for a law school of that calibre. The law school campus alone was an eye sore, the toilets stunk and the library was near enough to a toy room. This whole experience was unbelievable to me and many others. The overall law school staff could not offer any better to their students as you cannot offer what you do not have. The whole law school setting is a failure, which justifies the mass failure in the August Bar final exams. Shame on Nigerian Law school.

Anonymous said...

The other 2000 that passed, nor be the same schools dem go?

Anonymous said...

The question I have is, the other 2000 that passed, do they have two heads?

Anonymous said...

Diary of a mad law student, I feel ur pain bt I tink u exaggerated the situation a bit. Am a lawyer and I know u re referring to Lagos Campus bt d situation wasn't as bad as u painted it. Stop cryin over spilled milk. I think d best thing to do is to analyse Wt those 2000 students dt passed did differently so u can make d resit exam. Cheers.

Ajayi Alaba said...

the 2014 bar2 results should also serve as food for thought for the april batch.For out of the paltry % from Abuja campus almost a qtr are members of the house of lords.Pple like Saheed cj,Jaiye Solomon,Kayster,Ajayi alaba -TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN to mention a few.Infact majority of the front benchers who booed the unrepentant Uncle Ajayi at the pre bar civil did not make it.Most of the 400 who made it from Abuja campus are not known to be who would quickly grab the mic to impress.Yeah pre class reading is good but the motive should be to enhance continuous learning and not to impress lecturer and collegues.Afteral Uncle Ajayi that was declared FINISHED like Etoo by Onoja and Udum ahead of bar2 exams do not need the intervention ot NA or Media to prevail on Onadeko to review to to be called.So be a clever Marathoner who saves the crucial energy for the last lap.

Ajayi Alaba said...

I am a proud member of house of lord Abuja.Uncle TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN booed by front benchers at the pre bar civil.Now me and saheed,solomon,kayster and some other Lords do not need the intervention of NA to be called come Nov25th.Infact like Etoo I was declared truly finished by Onoja and Udum.So food for thought to the april batch.Class performance though good but the motive should be for knowledge enhacement and not to impress.A clever Marathoner saves the crucial energy for the last lap

pro venus said...

If I'm not too late, for all those calling for a review, I think the review should start from the admission process into university. How do u admit students to study law? How do theses students scale thru all the 5 years in university? Do some of them really deserve to graduate? LOL. Nobody is reviewing any result, it's final. Go lick ur wounds, or buy ur wig n gown n get ready for the call ceremony. The standard can't be as high as it was last year and those that made it made it. Many that failed in my set were actually plotting their failure from the start without knowing so. To pass bar finals you MUST STUDY hard, read widely, study, study, study till nothing else matters but the law.

pro venus said...

And...the mere fact that you paid xyz amount of money is not a guarantee that you will pass bar exams. I've read people's comments on how they paid so n so fees yet were made to fail. Get a grip. Also those blaming poor infrastructure, no books, no water on campus, blah, blah, that argument would have been palpable if everyone failed. Those in my set at abuja campus who considered themselves superior to the poor living conditions on campus had the option of renting apartments off campus. Some failed, some passed,

Unknown said...

I was pregnant all tru law Skool,I gave birth a week b4 exams & I still passed,so u guys uve got no excuse not to make,u nid to just face ur studies for one year,I mean get off d social media for a year,it would do you good,my best friend in lawschool back den failed,she made a recall too& she opined that I cheated my way tru,I just laffed it off,wen u are not prepared u are not prepared,I wz dedicated for a whole year while she was busy watching movies on her laptop,it pays to b serz o.

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