By NATION REPORTER
THERE is nothing sinister about the high failure rate recorded at the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) because the institution has to raise standards, legal practitioners have said.
The practitioners urged students at ZIALE to pull up their socks in order to meet the standards required at the education institution.
Speaking in separate interviews, Lusaka lawyers Jonas Zimba and Sakwiba Sikota said the high failure rate recorded at ZIALE was justified.
Mr Zimba said courses at ZIALE were rigorous and not designed for any ‘jim and jack’ to walk over easily.
He said the standards set by ZIALE were meant to ensure that only the best get to practice in the industry.
“Those courses are not for every jim and jack to walkover, the standards have to be set high so that we get to have the best lawyers,” said Mr Zimba.
And Mr Sikota said since the 1980s, ZIALE examinations have been tough with a low pass rate.
He said students just needed to up their game because there was nothing wrong with ZIALE.
Mr Sikota said as students do their practicals, they needed to be well guided because most courses at ZIALE were practical.
He said it was unfortunate that most students miss out on the practical component and end up failing at ZIALE.
“We just urge our youth to put in more effort as they go to ZIALE, otherwise that is how the exam is supposed to be,” Mr Sikota said.
Earlier, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) justified that the high failure rate recorded at ZIALE was due to the institution’s desire to have qualified and well trained lawyers.
LAZ president Abyudi Shonga explained that the course is designed in such a way that it is rigorous and only allows those that are ready to pass.
The 2021 ZIALE final examination results have indicated that only one student passed out of the 395 students who sat.
ZIALE students’ failure rate defended
