NEW TRENDS IN LEGAL EDUCATION AT BANGLADESH OPEN UNIVERSITY

In Bangladesh, Formal legal education is provided by either a department of a university or an affiliated college. There are four public universities and above twenty six private universities in our country with law as a regular subject of teaching. Besides, the National University imparts teaching of law through law colleges in the country. All public and private universities providing law graduate degree by conventional system but many people deprived from this opportunities. Thus to increase equitable access to education and to develop the human resources of the country the Bangladesh Open University playing significant role. Large numbers of students of rural areas, particularly women, out of school and adults who must do work to support their families are include with the university. Bangladesh Open University is the only institution in Bangladesh which imparts education in open and distance mode and offers 23 formal programmes, the demand for the introduction of LL.B programme for the benefit of those who have been, for various reasons, deprived of the opportunity of undertaking graduate course in law in conventional mode of education. The decision to offer the programme in distance mode is being taken in response to the earnest desire of the relevant quarters expressed in various dailies and formal applications submitted to the university authority as the learners in the open and distance mode learn at his own place and any time whenever he feels convenient to learn and is not for restricted by time, space or age. Distance learning is, indeed, presently considered as a viable alternative of the conventional system of education to fulfill the growing demand for legal education. This paper presents the new academic trends in Bangladesh Open University by distance learning Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree and modern aspects of the legal education at School of Law in Bangladesh Open University.