News
Attorney-General unveils legal education bill to end Ghana School of Law monopoly
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has unveiled the Legal Education Bill, 2025, which seeks to reform professional legal training in Ghana by shifting the system from the Ghana School of Law to accredited universities.
Presenting the bill in Parliament, Dr. Ayine said the proposed law is aimed at removing long-standing bottlenecks in legal education, particularly the monopoly of the Ghana School of Law and the entrance examination system.
According to him, the current entrance exam has made it extremely difficult for many qualified law graduates, including those with first-class degrees from reputable universities, to gain admission to the Ghana School of Law.
“What this bill does is to clear the bottleneck, which is the monopoly of the Ghana School of Law and the so-called entrance exam that made it virtually impossible for even first-class students to gain entry,” he told the House.
Dr. Ayine explained that the bill introduces an accreditation system to ensure quality control in legal education. He stressed that not all institutions offering LLB programmes will be allowed to train students for the Bar.
“We are introducing an accreditation programme to make sure that it is not every mushroom LLB school that will produce lawyers who will go on to write the bar exam,” he said.
He noted that only accredited universities that meet strict training standards will be permitted to run the professional law practice course.
According to the Attorney-General, the goal is to ensure that law graduates receive training that is equal to or better than what past generations of lawyers received.
“We want to make sure that candidates go through training that is either equivalent to or better than what we went through before becoming lawyers,” he added.
Dr. Ayine further announced that the bill proposes the introduction of a National Bar Examination, which will replace the current entrance exam system.
Under the new system, law graduates who complete professional training at accredited universities will all sit for a standardized National Bar Examination.
He explained that the examination will be administered by the Council for Legal Education through its Bar Examination Committee.
The Attorney-General said the reforms are intended to expand access to legal education while maintaining high professional standards in the legal profession.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has opened applications for members interested in contesting as its parliamentary candidates in the 2028 general elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the party said interested members must declare their intention to contest between Sunday, November 1, and Tuesday, November 10, 2026.
According to the statement signed by the party’s Communications Director, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, prospective candidates must complete an online form within the specified period.
The party said a non-refundable application fee of GH¢5,000 would be charged to each prospective candidate.
It added that all applicants would undergo vetting and screening to determine their eligibility to contest on the party’s ticket.
The NPP announced plans to organise capacity-building workshops for prospective candidates in December 2026. The workshops will be held across the Northern, Middle and Southern zones, with details of the venues to be announced later.
The party stressed that the guidelines would apply to all prospective candidates, including sitting NPP Members of Parliament who wish to contest again.
It further warned aspirants against starting campaign activities following the opening of the application process.
According to the statement, the existing directive prohibiting campaign activities remains in force until the party gives official clearance.
It cautioned that anyone who violates the directive would face appropriate sanctions under the party’s constitution and regulations.
The NPP said the process was designed to promote fairness, transparency and equal opportunities for all aspirants as it prepares to select candidates for all 276 constituencies ahead of the 2028 elections.
It urged prospective candidates to follow the guidelines and conduct themselves with discipline and respect for one another throughout the process.
The party said its broader objective was to strengthen unity within its ranks and rebuild public confidence ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
eputy Foreign Minister accompanies Veep to Shanghai to champion Global South reform, industrial drive
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, James Gyakye Quayson, accompanied Vice-President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on a successful working visit to Shanghai, China, from 15th to 19th October 2026, at the invitation of the East China Normal University (ECNU).
The highlight of the visit was the 2026 Global South Academic Forum held on 17th October, which brought together over 200 scholars, policymakers, political party leaders and media professionals from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, under the theme “Global South Political Parties: Governance and Modernisation.”
In her keynote address, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang asserted that political independence is only truly the beginning, stating that “winning political power and governing effectively are related but not the same responsibility.” She called for stronger South-South cooperation, multilateralism and reform of the global financial architecture to end debt traps, ensure fair risk assessments and promote climate policies that respect different national circumstances.
On 18th October, she addressed a business forum with Chinese investors, linking Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy policy to industrialization. Warning that training youth without factories creates unemployment, she appealed for factories to be established in Ghana to serve the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market, with priority on value addition in cocoa processing, shea butter, cashew, coconut and timber.
On October 19, Ghana’s Ambassador to China, Kojo Bonsu, hosted a dinner at the Shangri-La for the Vice-President, attended by members of the Ghanaian community and business leaders, who praised the thorough preparation by the Ghana Embassy staff for the visit.
Throughout the trip, Mr. Quayson coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to align the engagements with Ghana’s jobs and transformation agenda.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
