introduction
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth learning can be taught.” — Oscar Wilde[1]
Spending 9 hours a day learning not a single skill but useless academics which is not going to provide any job is the most useless and non-productive thing one can ever do in his life. People who have received a quality education have a better grasp of their surroundings and are therefore less sensitive to outside influences. Education is necessary for accurate information interpretation since it advances knowledge. A person with more education is better able to comprehend their own and others’ roles in society as well as their rights. Better interpersonal understanding, fewer disputes, and increased tolerance for diversity result from this.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
Education aids in understanding and establishing opinions about life’s many aspects. Thus, accumulated knowledge promotes the growth of critical thinking. This implies that decisions are made in line with the decision-knowledge maker’s and that nothing is “taken for granted.” All excellent schools teach their kids these behavioural patterns to help them develop into intelligent, independent thinkers. The application of critical thinking extends beyond the analysis of outside data and includes choosing the appropriate strategy for issue-solving. A student gains knowledge about selecting the ideal response to a challenge. Teachers will constantly advise students to research facts and look for the best potential solution. One needs certain knowledge and problem-solving experience in order to excel at this. This method produces the best solutions feasible, occasionally even ground-breaking ones.
The purpose of schools and colleges is to make a person knowledgeable and wise by providing education in whatever way is required.[2] In our country, we attend school, where we complete our primary and secondary education, till the age of 18 years approximately. At this point, a student becomes a lot more understanding, mature sensible, responsible, practical, experienced and wise. He perfectly understands what is good and what is bad for him, what would help him grow in life & career and what would stop him from growing up. In school, a student needs guidance in every aspect of life because he didn’t know the consequences of his actions at this point. However, in college, he is a grown-up adult who knows what is best for him to grow in life.
COLLEGE AND ATTENDANCE
In most colleges in India, there are mandatory minimum attendance criteria for students.[3] Mostly, it is around 75% to 90% of the total lectures taken by the teacher of any given subject. A student has to attend all the lectures even if he already knew what is being taught in the class or even if he can study the topic by himself without anyone’s guidance. There is a liability on the student to attend the lectures even if they are tedious and difficult to handle. If any student couldn’t secure the minimum attendance criteria, he would not be allowed to sit in the annual examination and this would lead to a waste of one whole year for the student at this young and precious age.[4]
In today’s world, students can do their studies on their own by taking the help of technology. Then why there is mandatory minimum attendance criteria if a student can pass all the required exams without attending the lectures? He can invest that time in some other productive work. If they find the lectures interesting, valuable and thought-provoking, they would attend the lectures, there is no need to make attendance mandatory for them. They are no longer children. They are free to make that choice. They should use their time on something else instead of sitting through lectures on stuff they already know if they are capable of passing all the required tests and submissions.
CONCLUSION
According to the Indian Law Commission, “Legal education is a science that imparts to students knowledge of specific principles and legal provisions to enable them to enter the legal profession.”[5]
Absorbing vast amounts of legal knowledge is an essential element of being a law student; this includes memorizing cases, recalling pertinent legislation, and mastering the spelling of difficult Latin words. Although significant, the legal knowledge you acquire during your education is only one aspect of practising law. Once you start working as a lawyer, it will be assumed that you are familiar with the fundamental ideas of the legal field you are working in. The specifics of the issues you are working on could necessitate additional research in a particular field, but that is where your legal expertise comes in.
You might have fretted about making deadlines and obtaining the grades you needed during law school, but as a practising lawyer, you’ll certainly face a lot more pressure. For instance, a lawyer in private practice will typically be required to reach certain goals for billable hours and billing, engage in client acquisition, and, of course, avoid negligence at all costs.
Theoretical learning is the subject of knowledge, and practical application is the process through which the knowledge acquired must be applied in specific real-world circumstances. Everyone is given a clear explanation of the facts through the combination of theory and practical practice. Although one can learn theories of law by self-study through good books and the internet but law colleges in India give you this theoretical knowledge through their mandatory lectures. For practical knowledge, you have to go to real courts and learn from successful lawyers.
You can read relevant law books to learn the law. But if you want to be a successful advocate, work for a trustworthy firm. Learn how to get prior court rulings, how to write pleadings, the skill of cross-examining witnesses, and how to conduct yourself in court. Always be sincere, and follow the law to the letter. These will assist you in becoming a respectable lawyer. No classroom lecture can teach you these skills.
Therefore, in my opinion, there shouldn’t be any mandatory attendance criteria, especially for law students, in college under the condition that they pass all the requisite exams and submit the assignments on time. They should be given the freedom to attend or not to attend the lectures. In the meantime, they can intern under some good lawyers in order to learn legal practical knowledge.
Author(s) Name: Prakhar Tiwari (Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur, C.G)
References:
[1] Oscar Wilde, Intentions (first published 1891, The Project Gutenberg eBook 2014) 95
[2] Knowledge at Wharton Staff, ‘The Objective of Education Is Learning, Not Teaching’ (Knowledge at Wharton, 20 August 2008) <https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-objective-of-education-is-learning-not-teaching/> accessed 04 January 2023
[3] Sandra Marina Fernandes & Rachel Windsor, ‘Should 75% attendance be made compulsory for students?’ (The Times Of India, 24 August 2017) <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/should-75-attendance-be-compulsory/articleshow/60157669.cms> accessed 04 January 2023
[4] Ibid
[5] Law Commission of India, The Curriculum U.G.C. Guidelines, Report The Curriculum Development Centre in Law (1990)
