Features
Legal education and the 499 students
Persuance of education is considered very important at all levels because of the essential role played by education in sharpening the skill of students and making them more productive for the development of various sectors of the economy. The purpose of education is to equip students with relevant knowledge and skills that would help liberate them from ignorance and make it possible for them to address the challenges or obstacles in socioeconomic development. This explains why all over the world, countries place emphasis on developing the educational sector to make it dynamic and productive in terms of output of relevant goods and services in line with improving upon the welfare of people.
DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS
In Ghana, it is important to encourage the growth of engineering and agricultural students to make it possible for them to help the economy to grow. Apart from this, we also need to encourage other sectors such as transportation, tourism and many other areas to ensure that no sector is left behind. Another area that cannot be forgotten is the health sector because if all sectors of the economy expand while the health sector is weak, people will not be able to get the quality health care they deserve and this would demean that most of the people will remain unhealthy and unproductive for that matter. Every sector in the economy is therefore important and that is why students must be encouraged to take up studies in different areas and blend such different aspect of knowledge for the advancement of society. It is equally important to note that in everything we do we must be regulated by the laws of the land otherwise there will be total choas in society. Choatic situations or disorderliness is not good for society because it doesn’t not help society as a whole to move forward in a common direction towards national development. To be able to move forward in this way we need to ensure that laws are properly enacted to regulate all activities in society. Such laws, once enacted, must be properly interpreted and implemented to guide all actions in society. Laws are therefore very important because they help people to train as lawyers and also make it possible for the law making body or legislature to go about it’s duties in the passage of laws for the country. All such activities cannot take place if lawyers are not properly trained to operate as professionals in our court systems, the legislature and other areas of life. This is what makes legal education very important.
LEGAL EDUCATION
Legal education today has become an important programme for all those who desire to enter the Ghana School of Law for professional training to make them lawyers. Legal education has become an important part of our life because lawyers help us to regulate affairs in society and to carry out our conduct in an acceptable way in line with the laws of the country. It is professional lawyers who help societies to organise their activities in line with accepted principles. Society today is governed by social norms and laws in various aspects of our life. Politically, socially, and economically, it is the implementation of the law that helps to protect the interest of everyone as well as different groups of people pursuing various activities for national development.
LAW AND ORDER
Law and order in society can only be possible if we allow ourselves to be governed soundly and effectively by rules of conduct and laws that have been enacted in the interest of the nation. On the economic front and in the business sector, we are always governed by different laws and principles that help us in the promotion of national economic development as well as business growth
in the interest of all. Similarly, our social behaviour such as obeying traffic rules and so on are also governed by laws in the country. Politically, democracy cannot thrive without making room for laws to govern our behaviour and conduct.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
In the light of all this, it is clear that professional training is very necessary for all those who desire to receive it in line with legal education. If enough lawyers are trained for the country, the country will have the peace it desires to go about all duties and operations necessary for our socioeconomic development.
FATE OF THE 499 STUDENTS
Against this background, it is unfortunate that the fate of the 499 students who desire to entire the Ghana School of Law is hanging in the balance through no fault of theirs. At the same time, the Ghana School of Law as well as the Independent Education Council or Body for Legal Education and also the Attorney-general and other stakeholders cannot be blamed for this unfortunate development. As a nation, what could have been done would have been to institute measures in anticipation of the increasing numbers of students fighting for professional education in law. Ghana has done well in producing quality lawyers not only for the country, but for other countries in the world. We therefore need to expand the facilities for legal education in the country so that all qualified candidates can be admitted without unwarranted restrictions or obstacles.
SOD CUTTING
It is very good that President Akuffo Addo has already cut sod for the construction of a new training school for professional legal education to cater for the increasing number of students in the country. However, this cannot
help the situation until the completion of this noble and necessary project. Thus, while waiting for the completion of the project, we all need to be patient so that at the right time, not far away from now, more students can be admitted for legal education. Even though facilities are limited compared to the huge numbers desiring to enter the Ghana School of Law, every effort must be made by the authorities concerned to admit more students than is being done now so as to reduce conflicts and afflictions among any group of people who want to enter the Ghana School of Law. The situation can be managed like this until the new law school for professional training is completed to admit more students than we are doing now.
CONCERN OF PARLIAMENT
Parliament, concerned about the situation, has directed the Ghana School of Law to admit all the 499 students desiring to enter for professional training, without failure. This is good but must be intepretated in the right frame of the law governing professional legal education in the country. Even though Parliament has a supervisory role over the Executive, it cannot exercise the power of directing the Ghana School of Law to admit all the 499 students. This has been explicitly explained by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and it is expected that the truth of the matter would be taken in good faith no matter the pain and frustration that may go with it. The country has come to the point where many anticipated problems likely to be encountered must be seriously examined and dealt with in order to avoid crisis situations. Ghana must move on in its quest for political, economic and social development but this must not be done in an haphazard manner to disturb the peace and development of the state. Once we all understand it in this way, we will be able to deal with this problem once and for all together with all other challenges that may come our way so as to be able to surmount them and move to a higher level of progress for the good of the country and Africa and the world as a whole.
AVOIDING POLITICS
In the light of all this, we should not play politics with the issue of legal education in Ghana because if we do, the real purpose of finding pragmatic solution to the problem will escape all of us and when this happens it is the country as a whole that will stand to lose it focus in identifying a purposeful solution for the issue. There is no doubt that legal education is very important because in all aspect of life we need lawyers to guide us in what we do so that we will not go wrong. Even if we go wrong the disastrous effect experienced in this case may not be so much. The point being made is that legal education can help us in a dual purpose. First of all it can prevent a situation of going wrong before being corrected to do what is right. Secondly even where we go wrong the lawyers can help us to minimise demanded caused. This explains why we must all collaborate with stakeholders so that more expansive facilities for legal education will be effected to solve the problem once and for all in line with what the current government spearheaded by President Akufo-Addo stands for.
Contact email/whatsApp of author: Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
On Sunday, October 11, 2026, it was the turn of Ghanaian Catholics in Finland to lead the singing in the church service of the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF).
It was indeed a spirit-filled feeling for worshippers present. And for the Ghanaian migrants, the occasion also brought back to them memories of church services in their home country, Ghana.
The ACCF has a roster for each country/community to sing from time to time. Next Sunday will be the turn of the Nigerian community. Other communities that usually sing are the Kenyan/Tanzanian community, the Cameroonian, the Ugandan, group, etc.
A powerful religious experience
The mass services of the Chaplaincy usually give a powerful religious experience and a display of cultural diversity, especially in occasions such as when the Bishop of Helsinki, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, celebrated mass with the Chaplaincy on Pentecost Day, May 24, 2026.
There was a similar time of spiritual joy last month (September 27, 2026) when Emeritus Bishop Teemu Sippo, former Bishop of Helsinki, visited the Chaplaincy. Bishop Teemu was the main celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain, Reverend Father Thomas Otieno.
Last Sunday, Reverend Father Bernard Sor, a Ghanaian Catholic priest based in Austria, was the main celebrant in the mass service where he performed a rite of baptism. Fr Bernard had celebrated mass a few months ago when he visited his sister and her husband in Helsinki. 
All these well-attended religious occasions indeed leave lasting memories. The homilies (peaching) by the priests usually emphasize religious tenets such as the importance of loving and serving God in truth, existing in peace with our fellow humans to promote unity in diversity, etc.
Unity in diversity and a colourful display of cultures
The African Chaplaincy church services usually produce impressive displays of diverse cultures from different parts of Africa and elsewhere. The events are often spiced by rich cultural displays of dances and colourful attires which are a delight to watch.
On special occasions, members of the Ghanaian Catholic community, in their gay and colourful kente attire and with adowa dance and music, usually lead the procession into the church. Other communities such as the Cameroonian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Tanzanian as well as Sudanese/South Sudanese groups also put up well-choreographed performances from their cultures.
The African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland
The African Chaplaincy was founded on June 4, 2017, which was a Pentecost Sunday, in a Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Emeritus Sippo S.C.I., the then Bishop of Helsinki, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Church in Helsinki.
The Chaplaincy was created by Bishop Teemu in collaboration with the Diocesan body when they detected a great flocking of African immigrants to Finland, the majority of whom were Catholics. This was to give the immigrants a possibility to integrate into the Finnish society by worshiping as Catholics and in their African cultural identity.
The responsibility of the Chaplaincy was given by Bishop Teemu to Father Dr Leonard Wobilla Shwei, who is thus the first Chaplain and ably led the Chaplaincy. He was succeeded a few years ago by Father Thomas Otieno, who continues to move the Chaplaincy forward. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
She did not find out he was cheating. She found out he was drowning.
It was two weeks after their beautiful wedding. The jollof was still in the fridge. A loan officer called her number-not his-and politely asked, “Madam, please tell your husband to pay his overdue loan. We have been calling him.”
That was how she discovered her new husband had entered their marriage with a hidden debt of over GH¢ 40,000. No cheating. No other woman. Just a financial secret.
And that is how many Ghanaian marriages begin to die. Not with a shout, but with a secret alert on a phone.
We prepare for the wedding. We do not prepare for the wallet.
What is money honesty?
Let me define it simply. Money honesty is not that you both earn the same. It is that you both know the same. It is the ability to sit down and say without fear:
“This is how much I earn.”
“This is how much I owe.”
“This is how I was raised to see money.”
“This is what scares me about money.”
Financial transparency is not about control. It is about clarity. You cannot build trust on top of secrets.
Many couples tell me, “Counsellor, we love each other, love will handle money.” I always answer, “Love is the car, but money honesty is the fuel. Love without honesty cannot move.”
How To Buy Your Marriage Insurance Today – My 5-Step Protocol
If you are engaged, newly married, or even 20 years in marriage, you can still fix this. At Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult—CPAC, this is what I give couples:
Step 1: The 90-Minute Money Naked Session.
No phones, no blame. Each partner writes down on paper: Monthly income, monthly debts, monthly family obligations, savings, and your biggest money fear. Then you exchange papers. Read it. Don’t react for 24 hours. Just absorb.
Step 2: Create OUR Money, YOUR Money, My Money.
You need three pots. OUR money for rent, food, school fees, utilities, properties, and the like— joint contribution. YOUR money and MY money—a small agreed allowance no one questions. This stops the feeling of being controlled.
Step 3: The No-Secret Debt Rule.
Agree from today: No new loan, no new hire purchase, no new family financial commitment above GHS 500 without telling each other first. Not permission, but information.
Step 4: Talk About Your Money Personality.
Are you a Spender or a Saver? Are you Risky or Safe? Most Ghanaian marriages are a Spender married to a Saver. Neither is wrong. But if you don’t understand your partner’s personality, you will call his saving “stinginess” and her spending “wastefulness.”
Step 5: Do a Monthly 30-Minute Money Date
Not an argument date. Light, with tea. “How did we do this month? What worried you? What should we plan for next month?” Couples who do this divorce far less.
My Final Word
Before you say “I Do” at the altar, have pre-marital counselling and also have the money talk on the sofa.
Ask your partner:
“If I lost my job today, how long can we survive?”
“What debt are you bringing into this marriage?”
“How much do you send to your family monthly and will that continue?”
If he or she gets angry that you asked, don’t get married yet. A person who is angry about accountability will be abusive about money.
Marriage insurance is not bought at Star Assurance or Enterprise. It is bought in honest conversations when no one is watching.
The wedding costs one day. The marriage costs a lifetime. Don’t enter a lifetime contract and covenant with hidden costs.
You can still insure your marriage today.
Source:
Counselor Prince Offei, CPAC’s founder, is a leading Mental Health Professional, Marriage Counsellor, Author, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, and Spectator Newspaper Columnist. He writes on relationships, marriage, parenting, special needs support, and their connection to mental health. For therapy, counselling, or enquiries, contact Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Accra on 0559850604 / 0551428486.
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
