Introduction
Law holds tremendous significance for every nation and its individuals. The legal system of every nation must be strong and efficient to ensure justice. “Legal education is the foundation of a strong legal system, as lawyers are made, not born.” In this blog, we will talk about the importance of legal education in India, along with its challenges and some suggestions from the perspective of a law student.

Union Law Minister Mr. Kiren Rijiju revealed in Parliament that there are currently 1,700 to 1,800 law schools in India, including National Law Universities (NLUs), Government LawColleges, and Private Law Schools and Universities. The law courses offered in these institutions include five-year integrated law courses such as BA LLB, BBA LLB, BSc LLB, B Tech LLB, and the three-year LLB program. Students must enroll in the five-year law course after completing their 12th standard.
Law Entrance Examinations
Institutions conduct different entrance tests for enrolling students in the programs mentioned above. Various entrance tests, such as CLAT, AILET& OLETS are conducted for admission into law programs. These entrance tests are held once a year for a limited number of seats.
Challenges Faced by Law Students
Being a law student, I want to highlight certain circumstances, loopholes, and challenges that we face regularly. These challenges or issues must be addressed for the betterment of law students, which will ultimately lead to the improvement of the justice system in the country.
1. Financial Expenses: The legal profession is one of the noble professions, and lawyers are often referred to as social engineers because they play a crucial role in shaping society through the creation, interpretation, and application of laws. However, becoming a lawyer
requires significant financial resources. The cost of legal education is extremely high, making it inaccessible for students from
marginalized communities. Many cannot afford to attend NLUs or good universities, which offer better opportunities and development. In fact, they often cannot even think of appearing for entrance exams due to financial constraints. On average, a student spends almost ₹10,000 on law entrance tests and lakhs of rupees on their law degree. While education loans are available, some banks do not even offer loans for law courses, further exacerbating the problem.
 Biometric attendance.
 CCTV monitoring.
 Prohibition of simultaneous degree programs.
 Criminal background checks for aspiring legal professionals.

Despite these measures, certain issues persist. According to BCI guidelines, the attendance criteria for law students are 75% or above for each semester. While this regulation mandates students to attend classes regularly and clear their legal concepts, there are genuine circumstances where a student may fail to meet the criteria. Unfortunately, there is no provision for such students to appear for semester exams, even if their reasons are valid.
2. Theoretical Focus Over Practical Approach: The system focuses heavily on theoretical knowledge but lacks a practical approach. There are some subjects in the curriculum which helps students in gaining skills such as moot court, drafting, pleading etc. however, these clinical subjects often lacks the practice and become theoretical like other subjects. Students cannot pursue practical training, such as internships, during their semester, leading to limited skill development. due to the attendance criteria, they feel restricted from participating in competitions like moot courts, debates, and other activities that improve critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and argumentation skills.

Even though the BCI mandates 20 weeks of internships for five-year law courses and 12 weeks for three-year law courses, this duration is insufficient to gain a thorough understanding of court procedures, client handling, and other practical aspects of the legal profession.
Suggestions:
Every problem has a solution, we just have to look upon it once. These problems and other issues may be solved by some suggestions:

There must be some platform like thing where law students can put their issues or suggestions for improvement of the legal education. They are the one who experiences everything and faces every challenge so they will be able to give some good suggestions on those issues. The attendance criteria must be there but there must be some provision regarding the genuine cases and relaxation for those who are doing internships and participating in competitions. The law institutions must encourage students to gain practical experience, application of theoretical knowledge in practical life. The government can initiate by making some kind of platform exclusively for law students where they can share their thoughts on any topic related to law or any law. It also encourages students and helps them to enhance their skills to become a future legal professional. If we talk about financial expense, there should be some more ways so that the students who cannot afford the legal education but has that zeal or passion for law can take a step ahead and make career in law. the BCI or law institutions extend the internship period or make it more flexible, allowing students to intern during semesters without compromising attendance criteria. Partnering with law firms, courts, and NGOs for structured internship programs could also help. Counselling services and stress management programs could be introduced to address the mental health challenges faced by law students due to high academic pressure, competition, and financial burdens. Propose that institutions engage alumni in mentoring current students, providing insights into practical aspects of the legal profession, and offering guidance on career development.

This article is authored by Gargee, who was among Top 40 performers in the Contract Drafting Quiz competition organized by Lets Learn Law.