An Empirical Study on Civic Awareness and Participation among Law Students: A Case Study of NUALS

Abstract

Youth are a valuable resource for any country, and among them, lawyers are a very important class of people who play a crucial role in protecting the rights of citizens. However, legal education has been criticised for being too technical and less focused on the needs of society. In this background, the current study focuses on civic education, awareness, and participation among law students. The study was conducted among students at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kerala, using descriptive methods with 30 students, proportionate from each year/batch of the 5-year programme, to understand the progress in each batch of students, using a structured questionnaire. A convenient sampling method was adopted for the study. The results show that law students are adequately participating in and engaged with society through their activities, with around 70 per cent of students. They were all well-informed about the rights, duties, and provisions of the Indian Constitution. Additionally, most of the respondents (around 65 per cent) feel that their legal education has enabled them to be civically engaged and participate in society. However, some changes in the education process and curriculum can help law students make a greater impact on society.