Comparative Study of Quality Assurance Mechanism in Legal Education in Pakistan, Malaysia and United Kingdom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62997/psi.2024a-31025Keywords:
Legal Education, Quality Assurance Mechanism, MQA, QAA, PBC, HECAbstract
Quality assurance (QA) in higher education plays a vital role in maintaining and enhancing academic standards. The quality assurance also ensures that graduates reach the necessary level of academic achievement. This importance has been emphasized by scholars such as Boon and Webb. In the face of challenges like globalization and financial constraints, QA becomes essential in helping educational institutions provide high-quality programs that meet the evolving needs of society. The process involves systematically managing and evaluating educational programs to ensure standards are met and that students are not misled by substandard qualifications. Governments and educational institutions must collaborate to implement QA mechanisms, ensuring accountability and transparency, particularly in the use of public resources. Countries like Malaysia, the UK, and Pakistan have developed their own QA systems. In Malaysia, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is responsible for QA, while in the UK, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) oversees academic standards. These agencies work to ensure that educational programs, including those in law, meet both national and international standards, safeguarding the quality and reputation of higher education. Through these QA systems, higher education institutions aim to fulfill stakeholder expectations and promote academic excellence. Unfortunately, the quality assurance mechanism in many countries fails to provide international standards. Pakistan is one these countries which is striving for the improvement in its quality assurance mechanism in legal education. This doctrinal research explores the quality assurance mechanism three countries. The paper ends with recommendations for improvement in quality assurance in weakest country’s legal education system.
References
Ali, F., Zhou, Y., Hussain, K., Nair, P. K., & Ragavan, N. A. (2016). Does higher education service quality effect student satisfaction, image and loyalty?: A study of international students in Malaysian public universities. Quality Assurance in Education, 24(1), 70–94. https://doi.org/10.1108/qae-02-2014-0008
Ali, S. R. O., Shariff, N. A. M., Said, N. S. M., & Mat, K. A. (2018). Service Quality in Higher Education in Malaysia: Perception of Undergraduate Students in A Malaysian Public University. e-Academia Journal, 7(2). 138-145.
Alperin, J. P., Muñoz Nieves, C., Schimanski, L. A., Fischman, G. E., Niles, M. T., & McKiernan, E. C. (2019). How significant are the public dimensions of faculty work in review, promotion and tenure documents? eLife, 8. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.42254
Bateman, A., & Dyson, C. (2018). Quality Assurance Arrangements Related To National Qualifications Frameworks in ASEAN and Their Impact on Higher Education. https://asem-education.org/wp-content.pdf
Boon, A., & Webb, J. (2008). Legal education and training in England and Wales: back to the future?. Journal of Legal Education, 58(1), 79-121.
Ching, J. (2018). Multiplicity and mutability in professional legal education in England and Wales http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/33432/1/PubSub9715_Ching.pdf
Code of Practice for Program Accreditation. Malaysian Qualifications Agency, MQA, Malaysia http://www.moh.gov.my/images/gallery/Garispanduan/Guidelines.pdf
College Higher Education Toolkit: Engaging with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/
Darwish, S., Batool, Z. (2017). Globalization And Quality Assurance In Higher Education: Insights To Pakistan And Bahrain, Ideal Journal of Education and Policy Studies 2(5) 175-180.
Dey, N. (2011). Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education: India vis-à-vis European countries. European Journal of Higher Education, 1(2–3), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2011.617567
Dill, D. (2007). Quality assurance in higher education: Practices and issues. In-Chief Barry McGaw, Eva Baker and Penelope P. Peterson, Elsevier Publications. North California. US.
ENQA Agency Review: Quality Assurance Agency For Higher Education (QAA). https://enqa.eu/wp-content/uploads.pdf
Fadzil, R. M. (2004). Maintaining standards of undergraduate’s legal education in Malaysia: UKM Law Faculty’s approach. Jurnal Pengajian Umum Bil, 5, 1-26. https://journalarticle.ukm.my/1721/1/malim_v.5_,1_2004.pdf
Faulconbridge, J. R., & Muzio, D. (2009). Legal education, globalization, and cultures of professional practice. Geo. J. Legal Ethics, 22, 1335-1359. https://heinonline.org/HOL/journals/
Felce. A, (2019, April 15). QAA subject benchmarks, or why the subject of a course defines the course of a subject. WONKHE. https://wonkhe.com/blogs/why-the-subject-of-a-course/
Gibson, M. T. (2012). A Critique of Best Practices in Legal Education: Five Things All Law Professors Should Know. U. Balt. l. rev., 42, 1-80. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage
Gover, A., & Loukkola, T. (2018). Enhancing quality: From policy to practice, EQUIP project report.
Grapragasem, S., Krishnan, A., & Mansor, A. N. (2014). Current trends in Malaysian higher education and the effect on education policy and practice: An overview. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(1), 85-93. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n1p85
Henard, F., & Roseveare, D. (2012). Fostering quality teaching in higher education: Policies and practices. An IMHE Guide for Higher Education Institutions, 7-11.
Hoecht, A. (2006). Quality assurance in UK higher education: Issues of trust, control, professional autonomy and accountability. Higher Education, 51(4), 541–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-2533-2
Jackson, S., & Bohrer, J. (2010). Quality assurance in higher education: Recent developments in the United Kingdom. Research in Comparative and International Education, 5(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2010.5.1.77
Jalil, F. (2013). A Report On Future Directions Of Legal Education In Malaysia A Study Commissioned By The Minister of Higher Education. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2744684
Lester, S. (2011). The UK Qualifications and Credit Framework: a critique. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 63(2), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2011.560394
Li, Y. (2010). Quality assurance in Chinese higher education. Research in Comparative and International Education, 5(1), 58–76. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2010.5.1.58
Mahbub, R. (2017). Quality assurance for higher education: challenges in sustaining continuous quality improvement for malaysian universities. In INTED2017: 11th International Technology, Education and Development Conference, Inted Proceedings, 6th –8th March 2017, Valencia, Spain. 5204-5210. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2017.1214
Matei, L., & Iwinska, J. (2016). Quality Assurance in Higher Education: A practical handbook. Central European University
Middlehurst, R. (2016). UK teaching quality under the microscope: What are the drivers? International Higher Education, 84, 27–29. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2016.84.9122
Mokhtar, R., Abdul Rahman, A., Othman, S. H., & Ali, N. (2014). Malaysia Academic Quality Assurance System in the Context of Issues, Challenges and Best Practices. Knowledge Management International Conference (KMICe), 2014, 456–464.
Nandi, E., & Chattopadhyay, S. (2016). Quality, Accreditation and Global. India Infrastructure Report 2012: Private Sector in Education, 167. 1-11. https://smartnet.niua.org/sites/default/files/resources/IIR-2012.pdf#page=206
Pavel, A. P. (2012). The importance of quality in higher education in an increasingly knowledge-driven society. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 2(1), 120-127.
Ryan, T. (2011). Quality assurance in higher education: A review of literature. Higher Learning Research Communications, 5(4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v5i4.257
Sanyal, B. C., & Martin, M. (2007). Quality assurance and the role of accreditation: An overview. In Accreditation for Quality Assurance: What is at Stake (pp. 3–17).
Seyfried, M., & Pohlenz, P. (2018). Assessing quality assurance in higher education: quality managers’ perceptions of effectiveness. European Journal of Higher Education, 8(3), 258–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2018.1474777
Singham, R. (2010). MLC 2010: Legal Education at the Crossroads - For Better or For Worse, the Malaysian Scenario. The Malaysian Bar. http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/bar_news.html
Smith, P. (2015). The legal education-legal practice relationship: a critical evaluation [Doctoral dissertation, Sheffield Hallam University].
Stuckey, R. (2017). Best practices for legal education, The Clinical Legal Education Association. University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, United States. https://www.cleaweb.org/Resources.pdf
Subject Benchmark Statement, Law 2007, QAA, AC, UK, Retrieved on August 14, 2024, from: http://europeancollegeoflaw.org.uk/downloads/Benchmark_Statement%20Laws.pdf
Tee, K. (2019, January 11). Buck Up Now, CJ Tells Law Universities And Students After Decline In Quality Legal Practitioner, Malaymail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/01/11/
The quality assurance agency for higher education. (n.d.). Qaa.ac.uk. Retrieved December 31, 2024, from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/the-quality-code
The Quality Code A Brief Guide (2015). https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/quality-code-brief-guide.pdf?sfvrsn=fb09f781_6
UKSCQA, U. Standing Committee for Quality Assessment.(2018). The revised UK Quality Code for Higher Education,(March).
Vanistendael, F. J. (2001). Quality Control of Students and Barriers to Access in West-European Legal Education. S. Tex. L. Rev., 43, 691. 696. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals
Verma, A. (2016). Arts and Literature (IMPACT: IJRHAL), ISSN (P). IMPACT Journals, International Journal of Research in Humanities, 2347–4564.
Yingqiang, Z., & Yongjian, S. (2016). Quality assurance in higher education: Reflection, criticism, and change. Chinese Education & Society, 49(1–2), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2016.1192382
Zin, N. M. (2012). The Training, Appointment, And Supervision Of Islamic Judges In Malaysia, Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal 21(1), 115-131.
