Quality of Primary Education in India Essay Example for Free

Quality of Primary Education in India Essay Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central,state, and local. Taxila was the earliest recorded centre of higher learning in India from at least 5th century BCE and it is debatable whether it could be regarded a university or not. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world in the modern sense of university. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government. India has made progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. [3] Indias improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India. [4] Much of the progress, especially in higher education and scientific research, has been credited to various public institutions. The private education market in India is merely 5%[ although in terms of value is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68–70 billion by 2012. However, India continues to face stern challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 25% of its population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7% graduate. The quality of education whether at primary or higher education is significantly poor as compared with major developing nations. As of 2008, Indias post-secondary institutions offer only enough seats for 7% of Indias college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors lack either a masters or PhD degree As of 2011, there are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000, plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. However, these institutions face shortage of faculty and concerns have been raised over the quality of education. [9] In India education system is not based on pure merit, but its based on caste based reservations. In universities/Colleges/Institutions affiliated to federal government there is minimum 50% of reservations applicable to various castes. At state level it varies. State of Andhra Pradesh has 83. 33% of reservations as on 2012 ,which is highest percentage of reservations in India. So the state is popularly known as the state that killed merit. PRIMARY EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA The Indian government lays emphasis to primary education up to the age of fourteen years (referred to as Elementary Education in India. ) The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions. 80% of all recognized schools at the Elementary Stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the Country. [pic] However, due to shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 5,816,673 elementary school teachers in India. As of March 2012 there were 2,127,000 secondary school teachers in India. Education has also been made free] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the state The DERP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3. 5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment Ratio of 93–95% for the last three years in some states. Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme. The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality remain low. CONCERNS FOR QUALITY EDUCATION As far as the provision of access and coverage is concerned, India today boasts of its educational system being the second largest in the world. It consists of nearly 610 thousand primary and 185 thousand upper primary schools, about a quarter million nonformal education centers, about 1. 87 million teachers and 110 million students study in primary classes in the recognized schools (1997-98). As per 1991 Census estimates there were about 115. 6 million children in primary school going age group in the country2. The latest educational statistics indicate a GER of 89. 7 percent for primary classes (81. 2 percent being for girls and 97. 7 percent for boys). 3 . The number of students in primary  classes in India is larger than the total population of the neighboring Bangladesh THE STATE OF QUALITY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN INDIA The key concern about education, in any formal educational system, of all time, has been its quality. Every stake holder, direct or indirect, of education is concerned about its quality. Guardians or parents, irrespective of their socio-economic status, want to educate their children with best quality education which would add better value to the degrees their wards acquire subject to the budget constraints. But what do we mean by ‘quality education? How this quality is being assessed? What is the status of the quality of education in India? This paper seeks to focus on these issues with respect to the quality of primary education in India. There is no universally accepted definition for ‘quality of education’. In education, perception of quality is around students (Mukhopadhyay, 2001). The performance of the students like examination results, learning achievements, ability to apply learned knowledge in practical life exhibit the quality of an education. For some, â€Å"Quality of education† means value addition in education (Feigenbaum 1951); excellence in education (Peters and Waterman 1982); for others, fitness of education outcomes and experience for use (Juran and Gryna 1988). For a society, â€Å"excellence† and â€Å"value† are most appropriate indicators for quality education. A generally accepted definition of quality education does not exist and different end users adopt different criteria for determining the quality of education. In this study we measure the quality of primary education on the basis of student learning achievement (i. e. , ability of read, write and do mathematics). PRIMARY EDUCATION :UNIVERSILITY VS QUALITY: The universal declaration of human rights (1948) considered primary education as the basic human right of all people. Accordingly, all nations prioritized universal access to education. The developed and developing countries have attained universal or near universal access to primary education. Now the focus is on the quality of student learning. The quality concern is not uniform across the nations. The developing and poor nations are still striving for expansion of educational access. It has been established that access to education and its quality are not sequential  elements. At the sub-regional meeting of South Asian Ministers in Katmandu in April 2001, quality education was unanimously identified as a priority area. All participants were in agreement that there was an urgency to develop the quality of education to meet the intermediate target and education for all by 2015. Because how well pupil are taught and how much they learn can have a crucial impact on how long they stay in school and how regularly they attend. Further whether parents send their children to school at all is likely to depend on the judgment they make about the quality of teaching and learning. Based on this perception parents decide whether attending school is worth the time and cost for their children and for themselves. The World Bank (1997) suggested that ‘the best way to improve access is to improve quality which would make coming to school or staying in school a more attractive option from the perspective of parents as well as children. Moreover, efforts to improve quality will tend to increase the efficiency of the public expenditure and will encourage parents to contribute children education’. In the year 1950, when the Constitution of India was adopted, education was recognized as a basic individual right. Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 45, states that â€Å"the state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years† (The Constitution of India). In line with the commitment of the country to provide elementary education to all children, educational facilities have got tremendously expanded during the post independence period, especially in primary stage. The number of primary school in India has increased from 2. 2 lakhs in 1950-51 to nearly 7 lakhs in 2004-05. In addition, there are at present nearly 3 lakhs non-formal education centres providing primary level education to out-of-school children in the age group 9 to 14. This expansion has definitely helped in making primary level education more easily accessible to a large section of children. As a result, the illiteracy rate and drop-out rate at school stage have come down. The national literacy rate has increased from 52. 21 per cent in 1991 to 64. 84 per cent in 2001. The drop-out rate has also declined from 64. 9 per cent in 1960-61 to 29 per cent in 2004-2005. Although the literacy  rates for both males and females have increased, the latter still continues to lag behind the former. However, there has been a narrowing of the male-female gap in literacy from 24. 8 percentage point in 1991 to 21. 7 percentage point in 2001(Selected Educational Statistics 2004-05). Primary education is the first stage of formal education. The main objective of quality primary education is to inculcate basic knowledge about reading, writing and arithmetic among the children. It is expected that after the successful completion of the primary level of education, a pupil should be able to read, write, and solve simple arithmetic problem. A study conducted by the Teamlease Services has revealed a very disappointing scenario of primary education in India. The study was conducted in primary schools in all the States of India (excluding Union Territories, Mizoram, Sikkim) to measure the learning achievement (quality) of students in language and mathematics. This study found that in India after completion of primary level education, 11 per cent student were not able to recognize anything, 14. 1 per cent can recognize only letters, 14. 9 per cent can read a word, 17 per cent can read a paragraph of a story and only 42. 8 per cent can read the complete story (Table 1). School Children who can read-standard-wise (IV) (in per cent) |State |Nothing |Letters |Word |One-Para of the |Complete story | | | | | |story | | |Andhra Pradesh |8. 8 |10. 5 |15. 6 |17. 7 |47. 35 | |Arunachal Pradesh |7. 2 |13. 5 |21. 6 |13. 3 |44. 4 | |Assam |10. 8 |15. 5 |20. 2 |21. 2 |32. 3 | |Bihar |14. 9 |15. 2 |12. 8 |14. 8 |42. 3 | |Goa |6 |6. 1 |12. 9 |24. 2 |56. 2 | |Gujarat |7. 2 |12. 4 |18. 9 |18. 6 |42. 9 | |Haryana |8. 5 |12. 1 |12. 7 |16. 1 |50. 7 | |Himachal Pradesh |3. 5 |14. 9 |11. 8 |14. 5 |55. 35 | |Jammu Kashmir |3. 4 |10. 2 |26. 5 |20. 8 |39. 1 | |Karnataka |5. 4 |12. 1 |17. 7 |19. 0 |45. 9 | |Kerala |3. 2 |3. 7 |10. 7 |11. 3 |71. 1 | |Madhya Pradesh |15. 7 |15. 3 |15. 5 |17. 1 |36. 5 | |Maharashtra |7 |12. 1 |13. 0 |17. 4 |50. 45 | |Manipur |10. 6 |10. 7 |18. 7 |15. 7 |44. 4 | |Meghalaya |9 |8. 9 |22. 0 |8. 9 |59. 5 | |Nagaland |3. 1 |16. 5 |21. 7 |255. 6 |33. 2 | |Orissa |12. 4 |15. 0 |13. 5 |15. 05 |44. 2 | |Punjab |8. 9 |15. 3 |15. 1 |17. 85 |42. 8 | |Rajasthan |15. 8 |13. 2 |12. 7 |14. 95 |43. 6 | |Tamil Nadu |10. 3 |11. 4 |17. 5 |17. 3 |43. 6 | |Tripura |1. 0 |7. 3 |11. 7 |16. 8 |63. 4 | |Utter Pradesh |16. 8 |19. 2 |14. 6 |14. 8 |34. 6 | |West Bengal |4. 3 |12. 3 |13. 8 |24. 6 |44. 9 | |Chhattisgarh |7. 3 |16. 0 |15. 0 |15. 5 |46. 4 | |Jharkhand |13. 8 |16. 9 |15. 5 |15. 4 |38. 5 | |Uttaranchal |6. 8 |13. 0 |11. 2 |13. 3 |55. 7 | |All India |11. 0 |14. 1 |14. 9 |17. 0 |42. 8 | Source: India Labour Report 2007 The condition of students learning achievement (quality) is extremely poor in mathematics compare to language. This study found that after the successful completion of the primary level education, 18. 6 per cent children could not recognize the numbers, 26. 7 per cent children can recognize the numbers but not able to do addition or subtraction, 23. 9 per cent children only can do subtraction, and only 30. 7 per cent children can do addition, subtraction as well as division. Table 2 contains data relating to mathematical learning achievement (quality) in all Indian states. IMPROVING QUALITY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION For improving quality, the concerned authorities need to emphasis on the following issues,Early childhood education is extremely important and must be universalized. Aelevant curriculum. Accurate assessment of learning outcomes. Participatory management of education system. Engaging local communities,. Using ICT in teaching learning process Training of teachers and administrators of ICT. ,District Institute of Education and Training (DIETs) and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) need to be more strengthened and undergo structural changes. ,Establishment of a National Primary Education Assessment system like National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for Higher education. ,Strengthening the teacher training institution. Reform in examination system. Proficiency in English is widely perceived as an important avenue for employment and upward knowledge, which also greatly facilitates the pursuit of higher education. English should be incorporated into the curriculum of primary schools as a language subject. CONCLUSION It appears from the empirical study that quality of primary education has been compromised for its universality in India. Operation Black Board, District Primary Education Project, National Literacy Programme, Sarvha Shiksha Abhiyan—all aim at universalizing. It is time that the nation pays heed to the quality dimension. As it has already been pointed out, quality indirectly helps in making the quantity. As a result, quality improvement programmes need to be devised for all levels—national, state and district.

Drive-by Shootings on Londons Streets :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Drive-by Shootings on London's Streets Close your eyes and sit back in your recliner. Let the cool breeze refresh you as you relax in your hardwood floored den and sip your English tea. Now picture London. What kind of an image comes to mind? Perhaps the sophisticated languages of its inhabitants or just the aura of properness that encompasses typical visions of the great city of London. I am not writing to deny the eloquence of London, I am instead writing to challenge the notion of sophistication that many of us hold true to London. Could a city of such brilliance and royalty ever fester with the day to day problems that we witness daily in our own country? I argue, yes. When one thinks of America, the thoughts tend to centralize around, "The American Dream". The truth is, the American dream is no longer an ideal that all strive to obtain. Instead the title is now a preface to a long novel of "dog eat dog". America is full of competition to reach the ideal of stability, family life, and security. It seems that the way many Americans attempt to gratify their dreams is to lie, cheat, scheme, and that is just the beginning. Lately, the petty competition has led to drugs, crime, and hideous acts of violence. Unfortunately, the trend is catching on. London, England seems to have joined in the "rat race" and the London news has the headlines to prove it. It seems that something is gone from the "old" England, or at least the way it used to be perceived. Crime in London is at an all time high and the amount of drug use and violence is soaring. Although several Americans are already well acquainted with the "date rape" drug, Royhypnol, the streets of London are now getting a dose of it as well. According to a recent issue of The London Student newspaper, the drug first came to notice in Scotland a year ago. The paper also makes many references to the previous and vigorous use of the drug in the U.S. Unfortunately, it seems that London has seen its fair share of the drug as well. The British police have already been informed of the problem and are asked to be aware of the presence of the drug along with its possible side effects. London women are being advised to watch their drink at all times and never accept a drink offered to them by a stranger.

People who do Crazy Things are not Necessarily Crazy

Every human being faces at least one affliction in his or her life that leads him or her to behave in an unusual manner. While some people obtain support from others and learn how to handle situations correctly, others fight their battles alone and find themselves committing unthinkable acts. One taking a dispositional view would allegedly reach the conclusion that those who perform these unthinkable acts must suffer from insanity. With an opposing outlook, social psychologists observe how certain individuals react to difficult circumstances and determine why particular escapades occur as a result of distinct settings. They understand that â€Å"occasionally, these natural situations become focused into pressures so great that they can cause people to behave in ways easily classifiable as abnormal† (Aronson). Humankind should strive to fathom the depth of human behavior, and simply labeling these people as psychotic only decreases the chances of doing so. Some murder trials, after examination, will prove certain individuals to be psychotic, while other proceedings linger in the mind as an obscurity. Often times, people do not want to accept the fact that not all murderers are demented. Szasz argued that we often prefer to attribute antisocial deeds to a person’s mental illness rather than to his or her intent or choice. It is difficult to accept the idea that sane people could willingly commit atrocities† (Kleinke). Thus, it remains crucial that we recognize how grievous conditions can generate one to become an eloquently volatile being. Two defined groups of individuals that account for a number of the enraged acts suggested as being â€Å"crazy† are: vulnerable persons dealing with agonizing treatment by the public and helpless minors growing up in unpleasant homes that lack affection. Considering the backgrounds of people who act deceivingly will allow society to better understand the reasons why unwanted deeds are committed and how they can be avoided. Just a few weeks ago I watched a showing on television called â€Å"Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes† in which Eric Smith earned the second spot on the list. Smith had a full head of red hair, a face covered by red freckles to match and a thick pair of glasses for his bad eyesight. At age thirteen, this appearance never seems to be the most popular when trying to make friends. Kids continually mocked the redheaded loner and rejected his friendship. Since no one wanted to be seen spending time with the outsider, Smith exhausted most of his time bike riding in the small town he lived in. Eric Smith represents the vulnerable individual who put up with too much overwhelming treatment from his peers. Eventually, he had to cope with his anger, and he did so in a horrifying manner. One particular morning, as Smith did his routine bike ride around the town, a four year old named Derrick Robie asked his mother if he could walk alone to a summer camp that he attended just a few blocks down. Hesitantly, she agreed, only because the neighborhood was known to be exceptionally safe. Smith, riding his bicycle to the same camp, passed Robie along the way and decided to lure him into an unseen area. Smith said he saw Robie as an easy target; he knew the young boy stood defenseless. Robie was brought into a wooded area where he was brutally beaten and smashed over the head with a large rock. Smith even sodomized young Derrick by shoving a stick up his butt hole in order to stab his heart and confirm the preschooler’s death. A defense psychiatrist tried to blame the murder on Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which literally means deadly rage and anger. It is â€Å"currently categorized in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an impulse control disorder† (Wikipedia). However, when involved in many murder case trials, one finds that â€Å"consciously or unconsciously, people who are the subject of social science research may skew results† (Levant). Since the rare disorder is seldom seen at age thirteen, jurors demanded that Smith undergo extensive medical testing. Results proved that his brain function and hormone levels were normal and had nothing to do with his sadistic behavior. A person suffering from psychosis often loses contact with reality and contains no control of his or her actions in painstaking moments. Smith confessed that he influenced naive Derrick to follow him into the woods in order to kill him in private. He knew exactly what he was doing and entirely understood the implications of his behavior. Furthermore, throughout the initial trial, he did not once apologize for killing an innocent child. Even after the crime was over with, Smith felt little remorse. It was not until the succeeding trial over a decade later that he acknowledged his wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness. Finally, he attempted to clearly answer the question that everyone had been waiting for a response to: â€Å"why did he do it? † Smith avows that he now has morals, something that he did not previously have. He asserts that no matter how minuscule an abuse situation, it all combines together to create a much larger issue for the one being bullied. Eventually, the individual will not be able to endure anymore pain and could potentially be driven to kill. Bullying can lead to a victim craving revenge and taking out anger on someone seen as less significant. Smith himself explains this behavior in his testimony by alleging that: â€Å"it is not because they’re evil or satanic little kids; it’s because they want the abuse to stop and it’s the only way they know how to. † He is aware that his actions were not a result of some form of psychosis. Instead, it was the unpleasant situation that instigated Eric Smith to act in a crazy way. Certainly he remains guilty; though, if the conditions at his school had been different, he would not have committed that terrifying crime. An even more shocking murder case than that of Eric Smith’s is the one known as â€Å"The Beltway Sniper Attacks,† which involves the juvenile known as John Lee Malvo. Fatherless throughout life, Malvo felt a strong connection at age fourteen to a man he and his mother met, John Allen Muhammad. Malvo’s mother left him with Muhammad for a long period of time until she was able to smuggle him over to Miami with her, but only as an illegal alien. Border Patrol caught them both and brought them into jail. After about a month, young Malvo was released on bail. Naturally, he longed to be in the care of the only other person he trusted: Muhammad. John Muhammad gave Malvo purpose and he even enlisted Malvo into school as his son. When Muhammad’s ex-wife, Mildred, was granted full custody of their three daughters Muhammad went berserk. Knowing that the death of his ex-wife would gain him guardianship, he thought out a plan to murder Mildred with no one suspecting him as being involved. The arrangement consisted of a killing spree that had no connection between any of the victims. This way, when the shooting of Mildred would occur, she would just be another random victim of the unknown mass murderer. Muhammad invited Malvo to participate in the homicides and told him that they could terrorize the nation together. Malvo admired Muhammad so, of course, he accepted the proposal and murdered ten innocent people as a result. Lee Boyd Malvo, holding the number one spot on the shocking crime’s list, epitomizes the deprived minor who yearns for a father figure. According to a forensic psychiatrist, Alexander E. Obolsky, the two snipers involved in the Maryland and Virginia shootings were narcissists who planned out their attacks. Malvo and Muhammad gained an emotional high from the feeling of being in charge. This conduct does not automatically indicate that the two suffer from psychosis. Obolsky affirms, â€Å"the person [the sniper] is crazy only in the sense that he does not care about people the way typical people do† (Pustovar). In agreement, forensic psychologist Dr. Neal Dunsieth insists, â€Å"the sniper might have some particular personality traits or be predisposed to strange beliefs, but I haven’t seen a lot that points to a mental illness† (Pustovar). Counselors and social workers have spent much of their time with Malvo during his nine years in prison. As reported by Carmeta Albarus-Lindo, who has absorbed over one hundred hours of her time with Malvo, Malvo has drastically turned his life around. He himself states that he habitually struggles with feelings of shame, guilt and repentance. Knowing she was just a few people away from being killed by Malvo, Mildred claims, â€Å"that boy was a victim before he even knew it. † If shot, she would have wanted the full responsibility given to her ex-husband. She fully realizes that he took complete advantage of the boy’s insecurities. Immature Malvo was just a child with a great deal of growing up to do when he first met Muhammad. Every young person needs an adult to help guide him or her through life. When growing up, people are taught that their parents know best; adolescents typically believe that this statement holds full truth. Sadly, Malvo happened to be hooked up with Muhammad as his guardian and he followed directly behind his footsteps. Lee Boyd Malvo, which is the boy’s real name, was cruelly brainwashed by the grown-up man whom he called â€Å"Father. Calling Malvo by the name of â€Å"John Lee Malvo† symbolizes the circumstances in which John Muhammad took over Lee Boyd Malvo’s essence and independence. Simply accusing all murderers of possessing some major mental disorder will in no way explain the reasoning behind numerous homicides. When assuming that all killers are psychotic, we are fundamentally â€Å"defining insanity as a label we give to people when we cannot put ourselves ourselves in their position and understand their actions† (Rosenberg). People must realize that, often times, certain motives trigger a person to kill. It is up to society to interpret the underlying incentives that are behind countless murders. It is much like Eric Smith’s attorney recently stated: â€Å"nothing will change what happened to Derrick. But maybe something can prevent what might happen to someone else’s child. † Society must study the various causes of killings and find the deeper issues behind the killer so that future outbreaks might be stopped. This is important to do so because â€Å"people who do crazy things are not necessarily crazy† (Aronson). Any human being faced with a dreadful situation risks the chance of performing a spontaneous mistake. Works Cited http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-did-eric-kill-30-06-2005/

How to Get a Law Education Online for Cheap

Would you like to earn an online law degree from the comfort of your own home? It’s not easy, but it is possible. Earning an online law degree poses several unique challenges. No online law school is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), and  49 states require that law school graduates earn a degree accredited by the ABA in order to take the bar exam needed to practice law. California is the one state that allows graduates from distance learning law schools to sit for the  bar exam, though the examinees must meet certain requirements. If you live in California, or if you’re willing to relocate, you may be able to become a practicing lawyer with an online law degree. Once youve worked as a lawyer for a few years, you may even be able to practice law in other states. Earning an Online Law Degree and Practicing Law in California In order to take the California Bar Exam, students must meet certain requirements set by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. There are seven steps to becoming an accredited lawyer. Complete your pre-legal education. Most law students have already completed a bachelor’s degree. California’s minimum requirement is that students complete at least two years of college-level work (60 semester credits) with a GPA equal to or above that required for graduation. Students can also demonstrate that they have the intellectual ability of a second-year college student by passing certain examinations accepted by the Committee.Complete your legal education. Online law students may sit for the California Bar Exam  once they have completed 864 hours of study for each year through a correspondence program that is registered with the Committee.  The Committee does not accredit online law schools; instead, it allows distance learning schools to register with the Committee if the schools meet certain requirements. Because the Committee won’t vouch for the quality of these programs, it is essential to thoroughly investigate any online law school before enrol ling. The State Bar of California provides a list of the schools currently registered with the Committee.Register as a law student. Before taking any examinations, online law students must register with the State Bar of California. This may be done online through the  Office of Admissions.Pass the First-Year Law Student’s Examination. Students must pass a four-hour test covering basic contracts, criminal law, and torts (concepts that are taught during a law student’s first year of study). The exam is administered in June and October of each year.Receive a positive moral character determination. All California lawyers must first prove that they have â€Å"good moral character† by undergoing an evaluation by  the Committee. You will be asked to provide information, fingerprints, and references. The Committee will talk to your former employers, your online law school, and will check for driving and criminal records. The entire process can take four to six month s, so get an early start.Pass the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Examination. This two-hour-and-five-minute exam will test your understanding of appropriate lawyer conduct. You will answer sixty multiple-choice questions regarding representation, privilege, contempt, and related issues. The exam is offered three times a year.Pass the Bar Exam. Finally, after completing your online law degree and fulfilling the other requirements, you may take the California Bar Exam. The bar exam is offered in February and July of each year and includes three days of essay questions, multi-state components, and practical exercises. Once you pass the bar, you are eligible to practice law in California. Practicing Law in Other States Once you’ve used your online law degree to practice law in California for a few years, you may be able to work as a lawyer in other states. Many states will permit California lawyers to take their state bar exams after five to seven years of practicing law. Another option is to enroll in a Master of Law program accredited by the American Bar Association. Such programs take only one or two years to complete and will allow you to qualify to take the bar exam in other states. The Drawbacks of Earning an Online Law Degree Earning an online law degree can be an appealing option for professionals with existing work and family responsibilities. However, there are several drawbacks to studying law online. If you plan to practice law, you will probably be limited to working in California for several years. Additionally, law firms will know that your online law degree is not accredited by the American Bar Association. You should not expect to be a contender for the most prestigious, highest-paying jobs. If you choose to pursue an online law degree, do so with realistic expectations. Studying law online is not for everyone, but for the right person, it can be a worthwhile experience.