Uganda is set to reform its legal education system with the drafting of the National Legal Examinations Centre (NLEC) Bill, 2025, which seeks to create an independent body to assess legal competence and standardise professional training across the country.
The Bill, approved in principle by Cabinet, aims to separate practical legal training from examination, by decentralising the Post Graduate Bar Course to multiple institutions while maintaining a uniform, transparent, and merit-based national assessment system; and to improve access, efficiency and quality in legal education by addressing capacity constraints, and aligning Uganda’s legal training with international best practices,according to a statement from the Law Development Centre (LDC) issued on 26th November.
A stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Attorney General on 26th November resolved that “the Attorney General shall proceed to present the proposed NLEC Bill to Cabinet,” while LDC continues admitting 1,500 students per academic year until further guidance.
The Ministries of Education & Sports and Justice & Constitutional Affairs will review the Bill alongside the Draft Higher Education Policy to harmonise any conflicts by 29th November.
The final draft is expected to be shared with stakeholders by 5th December and presented to Cabinet Secretariat on 12th December.
LDC Director Dr. Pamela Tibihikirra-Kalyegira said the reforms are intended to “improve access, efficiency and quality in legal education” while ensuring merit-based, transparent admission and training for Uganda’s legal professionals.
The announcement coincides with the release of the 2025 Pre-Entry Examination results for the Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, with 1,578 candidates passing out of 2,277 who sat the exam, representing 69.3%.
“The Law Council at its meeting of 24th November 2025 received the results and directed the Law Development Centre to admit all the 1,578 candidates who scored 50% and above,” she said ,adding that LDC currently has the capacity to train only 1,500 students per year.
The NLEC Bill and the Pre-Entry Examination results mark significant steps toward modernising legal education in Uganda, expanding access to training, and aligning professional standards with international best practices.