Teaching Law Through Distance: The Sri Lankan Experience.

This paper describes distance legal education as conducted by the Open University of Sri Lanka. The paper opens with a description of legal education in Sri Lanka which began in the period of British colonial rule. Also described are more recent efforts to make legal education available to a larger segment of the population culminating in the degree program in law at the Open University which was established along with a continuing legal education program and legal literacy programs for the general public. The content of the 4-year degree program is described noting its use of a broad based and comparative approach towards the subject matter. A section on the teaching method utilized considers a schedule of 20 hours of face-to-face teaching and discussion for each course, course materials, and audio cassettes of lectures on various topics. Also described are the evaluation methods of continuous assessment based on a take home assignment, an open book exam during the middle of the year, and a final closed book exam. Practical training in a legal aid and a mediation project are also covered. Concluding sections offer reflection on problems and perspectives. An appendix lists the courses for each of the four years of study. (JB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. *