Bilawal Bhutto studying law in UK
July 05, 2012
LONDON: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been studying secretly at a top London law college but has been unable to appear and pass his exams due to his hectic schedule and his inability to focus on the demanding module subjects.
The News has learnt the 24-year son of Benazir Bhutto, took admission at the BPP University College, UK’s first private and most prestigious university, in January 2011, after finishing his degree from Oxford University in September 2010. Bilawal,to this date, remains a student of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), although the course is normally finished in 9 months by full time students. The GDL is a law conversion course where graduates study all the core subjects of an LLB (Hons). The tuition fee for the course is around £10,000 per term.
A source said Bilawal has already paid fees for two terms but missed exams last year as well as this year due to his political commitments.“Bilawal has been studying for his conversion course. He has not been a regular student but it’s understood he received many private tutorials,” a class-fellow of Bilawal confided to this correspondent, further adding that Bilawal didn’t mix with other students when he attended the classes.
He has always been accompanied by undercover detectives to the college premises near Waterloo, according to another source. The subjects that Bilawal is required to achieve a GDL diploma are Contract law, Law of Torts, Law of the European Union, English Legal System, Constitution and Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts, Land Law. At the completion students are required to submit an Independent Research Essay.
Bilawal studied politics and history at Oxford University, the same Alma Mater where his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, mother and uncle Murtaza Bhutto also studied. Bilawal followed Oxford University rules and stayed away from politics. Soon after his graduation in 2010, he went to Pakistan for a few months and then applied for admission in BPP but this was kept a secret by BPP as well as people around Bilawal in Pakistan and in the UK.
A source at the BPP explained that Bilawal must soon sit in the examination as a student cannot indefinitely defer his or her examinations without good reason, and what is a “good reason” is discretion of the BPP.
A sign of Bilawal’s increased entry into hard politics came when he chose the US media for various high profile interviews about Pakistan and international affairs. Bilawal appeared last month on a number of US cable networks and spoke to carefully-picked news websites and papers to air his views.
At the time when his interviews were being broadcast in the US, BPP in London was holding the exam but Bilawal could not appear. BPP also offers facility to its students where the pupils can also take their exams from the USA, depending on an individual’s needs but a source confirmed that Bilawal did not attempt any papers while he was in the USA.
The source added that Bilawal, who is currently in London, will hold meeting the BPP administration to finally make his plans clear whether he would continue his studies or drop-out completely.
Bilawal, who will turn 24 in September this year, needs another year to attain the minimum age of 25 to stand in the election to become a member of the parliament in Pakistan.Bilawal was not immediately available for a response but sources close to him said he will give his version at an appropriate time, if needed.
The News has learnt the 24-year son of Benazir Bhutto, took admission at the BPP University College, UK’s first private and most prestigious university, in January 2011, after finishing his degree from Oxford University in September 2010. Bilawal,to this date, remains a student of the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), although the course is normally finished in 9 months by full time students. The GDL is a law conversion course where graduates study all the core subjects of an LLB (Hons). The tuition fee for the course is around £10,000 per term.
A source said Bilawal has already paid fees for two terms but missed exams last year as well as this year due to his political commitments.“Bilawal has been studying for his conversion course. He has not been a regular student but it’s understood he received many private tutorials,” a class-fellow of Bilawal confided to this correspondent, further adding that Bilawal didn’t mix with other students when he attended the classes.
He has always been accompanied by undercover detectives to the college premises near Waterloo, according to another source. The subjects that Bilawal is required to achieve a GDL diploma are Contract law, Law of Torts, Law of the European Union, English Legal System, Constitution and Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts, Land Law. At the completion students are required to submit an Independent Research Essay.
Bilawal studied politics and history at Oxford University, the same Alma Mater where his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, mother and uncle Murtaza Bhutto also studied. Bilawal followed Oxford University rules and stayed away from politics. Soon after his graduation in 2010, he went to Pakistan for a few months and then applied for admission in BPP but this was kept a secret by BPP as well as people around Bilawal in Pakistan and in the UK.
A source at the BPP explained that Bilawal must soon sit in the examination as a student cannot indefinitely defer his or her examinations without good reason, and what is a “good reason” is discretion of the BPP.
A sign of Bilawal’s increased entry into hard politics came when he chose the US media for various high profile interviews about Pakistan and international affairs. Bilawal appeared last month on a number of US cable networks and spoke to carefully-picked news websites and papers to air his views.
At the time when his interviews were being broadcast in the US, BPP in London was holding the exam but Bilawal could not appear. BPP also offers facility to its students where the pupils can also take their exams from the USA, depending on an individual’s needs but a source confirmed that Bilawal did not attempt any papers while he was in the USA.
The source added that Bilawal, who is currently in London, will hold meeting the BPP administration to finally make his plans clear whether he would continue his studies or drop-out completely.
Bilawal, who will turn 24 in September this year, needs another year to attain the minimum age of 25 to stand in the election to become a member of the parliament in Pakistan.Bilawal was not immediately available for a response but sources close to him said he will give his version at an appropriate time, if needed.
