Bar Council postpones physical exam requirement to next year

The Bar Council has postponed the new regulation requiring law students to sit examinations in person, pushing its implementation to next year.

The Council announced amendments to the minimum standards for law degree programmes on July 20, including mandatory physical examinations and changes to English-medium instruction. The decision drew concern from students, who said the change was being introduced mid-course.

In a statement on Thursday, the Bar Council said enforcing the regulation next month would create administrative and technical challenges for legal education providers. It said the Maldives Qualifications Authority (MQA) had asked the Council to revise previously accredited programmes and resubmit them for accreditation under the new standards.

As a result, the Council decided to delay implementation until next year.

However, the statement made no reference to the concerns raised by students.

Law students have been signing a petition since July 22 expressing opposition to the physical attendance requirement. The petition, prepared by Shariah and Law students at Villa College, says many students face difficulties attending examination centres due to work commitments or the distance between their homes and exam venues.

The petition argues that mandatory in-person exams are unfair to a large number of students and notes that online examinations already use lockdown browsers, webcams and strict monitoring. It also points out that countries such as Australia and the UK continue to offer online exam options.

The petition calls on the Bar Council to review its decision and adopt a fairer approach for all students. It has now received more than 400 signatures.