UKZN LLB programme fully accredited by the Council on Higher Education

Issued by University of KwaZulu-Natal
Johannesburg, Nov 17, 2017

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is pleased to announce that the Council on Higher Education (CHE) has fully accredited its Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme offered by the School of Law.

This comes after a rigorous national review of the LLB Programme in 2016. UKZN is one of only three out of 17 South African universities offering the LLB Programme to receive the confirmation of full accreditation.

The national review driven by CHE in consultation with the South African Law Deans Association (SALDA), the General Bar Council and the Law Society of South Africa was undertaken to strengthen the quality of legal education provision across South African universities.

CHE had requested the submission of improvement plans with respect to progress made towards improving the quality of the LLB programmes from all participating institutions in South Africa.

Subsequently, CHE was satisfied with the progress made by the School to enhance the diversity of its staff profile. The Council also noted how adequately the School addressed the issue of providing the capacity to develop students' research and writing skills, and commended the School for re-curriculating the LLB Programme through the decolonisation and Africanisation project.

In response to the news, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld said: "We are grateful to receive such good news about the full accreditation of our LLB Programme. This is a positive outcome and demonstrates that we are providing recognised and excellent training programmes that impact on the legal fraternity in our country. In this manner, UKZN is inspiring greatness in our future legal graduates."

The School of Law's Acting Dean and Head, Professor Warren Freedman, said the School is dedicated to maintaining the standard of quality of its LLB Programme. "The School is proud of this achievement and wishes to congratulate its staff and students and thank all those involved in the accreditation process."