After Ghana became independence in 1957, the development of Legal Education in the country was discussed leading to the enactment of the Legal Practitioner Act 1958 which gave birth to the General Legal Council (GLC).

The Council was charged with the responsibility of organising legal education in the country and the first African Chief Justice of Ghana, Sir Kobina Arku Korsah, appointed Professor J H Lang, as the first Director of Legal Education and the establishment of courses on instruction.  Since then, there has been other satellite campuses at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi which is aimed at opening a second School of Law in the Ashanti Region and another campus at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) near Legon in Accra.  The Kumasi campus was officially inaugurated in November 2010 by Her Ladyship Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, former Chief Justice of Ghana.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE GHANA SCHOOL OF LAW

The Ghana School of Law located in the heart of the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra, precisely Makola, is the only institution that provides training for law graduates in the Barrister of Law programme.  The professional law course is designed for law graduates who have obtained an LLB degree and have passed the entrance examination.  On completion of this course, the graduate is qualified to practise law in Ghana.  It is instructive to know that persons who have studied law outside the shores of Ghana and have first degree in law, would have to pass through the Ghana School of Law before they can practise the profession in Ghana.That is the requirement by the General Legal Council in Ghana.

ENTRY REQUIREMENT AND THE VISION OF THE SCHOOL

For one to qualify for admission to the Ghana School of Law for the professional law course, he or she must be successful in the entrance examination.  There is no way a person can gain an admission to the law school without writing and passing an examination.  Applicants who are admitted to undertake the professional law course are enrolled as Barristers at Law and Solicitors of Supreme Court upon their successful completion of the course.

The vision of the Ghana School of Law is to become a Centre of Excellence in Africa and the world at large for professional legal training and research.  This laudable vision has by far and large been accomplished since its establishment by Ghana’s first president Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1958.  No wonder, nationals from other neighbouring African countries as well as other advanced foreign countries continue to knock on our doors to seek admission to the school to train as professional lawyers of high repute.  The quality of training given to applicants is so high that upon completion of their course, they can work in any parts of the world.

FIRST OF ITS KIND IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

It is interesting to state that the Ghana School of Law is the first of its kind and the leading law school in Sub-Saharan Africa and serves students from other Commonwealth countries in the sub-region.  That is why the authorities continue to attach great importance to the quality of applicants who are seeking admission to the school.

CONTROVERSY OVER THE NON ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS

However, in recent times, the school has come under attack for certain acts that tend to undermine its credibility and placing it in a bad light.  The school, we are told is putting impediments in the way of applicants who have written the entrance examination and have genuinely passed.  If what we are hearing is the gospel truth, then the school must sit up and regularise its operations and put things in order, otherwise it will dent its high reputation in the international circles and earn a bad name.

Recent news circulating all over, especially in the social media indicated that some aggrieved candidates numbering about 499 who claimed to have passed the 2021 entrance examination to the Ghana School of Law, had been unjustifiably denied admission to the school for reasons they are not familiar with.  According to the aggrieved candidates, there was no debate that the admission pass mark into the school was 50 per cent which has been the case since the introduction of the entrance exams as a criterion for admission to the GSL sometime in 2012.  Additionally, there was equally no debate that the 50 per cent requirement that a candidate had obtained was a culmilative raw score of 50 per cent from the two sections of the paper.

AGGRIEVED CANDIDATES PETITION PRESIDENT

A lead convener of the group, Mr. Tonny Baah, told a news conference in Accra recently that they had petitioned the Office of the President on October 15, 2021 to use his Executive Power to come to their aid in their quest for justice and to vindicate their fundamental human rights as enshrined in Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution.  He expressed the confident that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who for all intent and purposes, had proven to be a renowned human rights lawyer and freedom fighter, would rise up to the occasion and do justice to their legitimate grievances.

“We appeal to the President who also happens to be a member in permanent good standing at the bar, to cause his official representative at the General Legal Council, the Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, who is clothed with powers under the Legal Professional Act, 1960 (Act 32), to order the General Legal Council and for that matter the Ghana School of Law, to comply with their own rules of engagement by admitting the remaining 499 candidates who passed the entrance examination,” he said.

HANDLING THE CONTROVERSY WITH DISPATCH

The current brouhaha that has characterised the process of admission to the Ghana School of Law need to be handled in a more professional manner in order not to create disaffection within the law profession.  We believe that the President of the Republic of Ghana who himself is a member of the legal luminaries in this country will intervene immediately and cause an investigation into this thorny issue to resolve the impasse.  This is an issue which should not be allowed to drag whatsoever.

OUR LEGAL SYSTEM IS AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD

It is a fact that our legal system is rated among the best in the world due to the vigorous and rigorous training we offer to prospecting lawyers in this country.  As a result of the meticulous training of our lawyers, many of them are serving in other capacities in a number of foreign countries across the globe.  Others are holding responsible positions in this country and are doing very well in areas they find themselves.  The training of lawyers in this country demands a lot of investment both financially and physically.  It is on the basis of this investment that the case of these aggrieved applicants should be re-examined so that they can have the opportunity to complete their course successfully and serve their motherland faithfully and dutifully.

Our dear country, Ghana, needs more lawyers to help prosecute its development agenda and, therefore, there is no need to stifle the chances of potential aspirants.

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By Charles Neequaye