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Punjab | Sans bar council recognition, GNDU law graduates left in lurch
Without a BRI recognition, those aspiring to settle in Canada say their degree holds no value there; varsity claims recognition in place but not updated on website; due to this, around 40 law graduates of the university, who aspire to settle in Canada, have been left in the lurch.
The future of LLB graduates from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU)’s two campuses hangs in the balance as the degree has not been accorded recognition by the Bar Council of India (BRI).
Due to this, around 40 law graduates of the university, who aspire to settle in Canada, have been left in the lurch.
BRI recognition is mandatory for all institutes teaching law, and it is to be renewed every year. However, GNDU has not renewed the recognition for the course since 2012 at its regional campus in Jalandhar, and since 2018 on its main campus in Amritsar, say sources.
Advocate Ekamjit Singh, one of the affected persons, said, “When I took admission at GNDU regional campus, Jalandhar, we were not apprised that the LLB programme here lacked BRI recognition. Without a BRI recognition, the degree is worthless in Canada.”
He added that what was more surprising was that despite the lack of recognition, the counseling for the programme was carried out at the state-level, facilitated by the Punjab government.
Canada’s stringent assessment policy
Notably, Canada has a National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) that assesses legal education and professional experience of individuals who obtained their credentials outside of Canada or in a Canadian civil law programme.
Explaining this, Ekamjit said, “When I sent my GNDU degree for assessment, as per the process, the agency found it was unrecognised by the BRI.”
The letter that Ekamjit received from the NCA read, “The relevant legal authority for approving law school programmes in India is the Bar Council of India. You commenced your studies in 2015 and approval of the 3-year LLB program from the department of law, Regional Centre in Jalandhar (Guru Nanak Dev University) expired with intake 2010/2011. While you graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, you were not awarded a qualifying law degree recognized by the Bar Council of India (sic).”
Ekamjit said, “The NCA sent me the letter on September 12. Since then, we have been contacting the university to get the issue resolved but to no avail. We cannot practise as lawyers in Canada without the recognition. By awarding unrecognised degrees to students for so many years, GNDU has been committing fraud.”
Recognition in place, but not updated on website: Dept head
Head of the department Rupam Jagota, said, “We have already paid the renewal fee but it has not been updated on the website yet as elections were going on at the council (BRI). I have just contacted them; they said the council will be open on Monday and the website will be updated soon. The problem is that the NCA only depends on the website and has taken the decision after going through the information on it. We are calling the council again and again to get the website updated. Otherwise there is no issue of the recognition”.
“We never faced such an issue before. We are facing this issue because many students are opting to settle in Canada. The advocates who earned law degree from this department, have licenses issued by Punjab and Haryana High Court. Since 2012, as many as 60 judges have passed out from my department,” she added.
When asked why the department did not pay attention to this issue earlier, she said, “I have just taken charge as HOD. My first priority is to resolve this issue. I hope things will be settled very soon.”
