New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday slammed the country's legal education system, describing it as "a sea of institutionalised mediocrity".

Inaugurating a two-day national consultation on second generation reforms in legal education, the prime minister said: "We do have a small number of dynamic and outstanding law schools but I am afraid there remains an island of excellence amidst a sea of institutionalised mediocrity.

"We are not even marginally nearer to profound scholarship and enlightened research in law."

An economist of repute, Manmohan Singh said: "We need to focus on utilizing the rich, vast and diverse resources available in the legal domain for imparting legal education in the country.

"If we are to have the rule of law in our country, if we are to have an economic environment where contracts are easily enforceable, we must ensure that our law teachers, advocates, corporate lawyers, legal advisors, judicial officers and legal facilitators are of very high standard.

"This is possible only if there is dramatic reforms and improvement in the scope and quality of our legal education systems."