The Legal Education Board (LEB) has ordered the closure of the University of Manila College of Law starting Academic Year 2024-2025, after failing to comply with the legal education standards.
In a public notice dated April 7, 2025, the LEB said that the university’s law school has already been notified about the closure order since June 5, 2024, but it reportedly still accepted enrollees for the current school year.
“This decision was made after a thorough evaluation of the legal education institution’s compliance with legal education standards and regulatory requirements,” the notice read.
The Board thus maintained that it would not recognize the enrollment of students in the law school of University of Manila beginning SY 2024-2025.
Citing LEB Resolution No. 217-14, the Board pointed out that among the reasons for the closure order was the University of Manila College of Law’s “dismal performance” in the Bar examinations.
The college also supposedly failed to meet the prescribed curriculum and academic standards for legal education, and had deficiencies in institutional facilities and resources necessary for quality legal instruction.
The LEB was created pursuant to Republic Act No. 7662, or the Legal Education Reform Act of 1993, which seeks to reform and uplift the standards of legal education in the Philippines.
The functions of the Board include administering the legal education system, supervising and accrediting law schools, and setting the minimum standards for law admission and minimum qualifications and compensation of faculty members. —Giselle Ombay/KG, GMA Integrated News
