Race case students to resit exams

FOUR ethnic minority students yesterday won the right to resit parts of their Bar finals in return for withdrawing complaints of racial discrimination against their law school.

The students, and a fifth who has since passed the course, had complained to an industrial tribunal that the examinations and marking system at the Inns of Court Law School were unfair, unreasonable and discriminatory.

But in a settlement yesterday before the Visitors of the Inns of Court sitting at the High Court in London, they agreed to drop their action after the school said it would let them resit their final assessment in either 1994 or 1995 and provide free help in preparing for the examination.

The students were Jennifer Ershad, Esperanza De Souza, Grace Higgins, Mei Ling Choo Simons and Samuel Waritay.

Earlier this year, an independent inquiry into why the failure rate of ethnic minority students on the Bar's vocational course was three times that of white candidates found there was no evidence of discrimination. However, it said five other students should be allowed to resit exams because of changes in format and lack of academic support.