Members of the Law Students’ Network (LSN) have cautioned against the risk of sacrificing quality for access, calling for greater stakeholder consultation and the need to provide clarity on timelines, funding, monitoring, among other issues, in the government’s quest to expand access to legal education in the country. According to the LSN, the government’s plans to expand access to professional legal education have resulted in a debate as to what the government really deems to be broken within the current system and seeks to fix with its avowed stance.
In a statement, the LSN noted that while the calls for expansion seem to be rooted in expediency, lingering concerns about timelines, funding, oversight risks, among others, highlight the need for effective scrutiny of the Bill, so as not to sacrifice quality on the altar of political expediency.
The LSN, therefore, called for broader stakeholder consultations and clarity on the proposed Bill, ensuring that the views of all relevant stakeholders were brought on board before the law was passed. On that score, LSN urged government to reconsider its plans to have the Bill passed under a certificate of urgency without adequate scrutiny from stakeholders.
Background
Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, has disclosed that a new legal education bill has been finalised, and is expected to be submitted to Cabinet in August. The Bill, when passed into law, will overhaul professional legal training in Ghana, allowing students with an LLB from accredited universities to undergo a one-year Bar Practice Programme at the same university where the LLB programme was undertaken, and thereafter write a standardised national bar examination.
The plan, as announced by government, is therefore to abolish the current centralised admissions system of the Ghana School of Law and, in place of that, allow all universities running the LLB programme to offer an additional one-year practical programme for students leading to the professional law qualification.
This is part of the government’s plan to embark on legal reforms to enhance access to professional legal education, as promised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC). On page 102 of the NDC 2024 manifesto, the party promised, inter alia, to conduct a comprehensive review of professional legal education aimed at accrediting certified law faculties to run the Professional Law Course under the supervision of the General Legal Council (GLC).
LSN
The LSN is an organisation for law students of Ghana interested in policy development, research and community development.
The Network’s aims and objectives include providing a platform for law students to undertake research and engage in discussions on legal, policy and emerging issues related to social, political and economic sectors in Ghana.
It seeks to foster a community of learning and intellectual exchange among law students interested in policy and socio-economic development; promote awareness and understanding of legal and policy matters within the broader community.
It also aims to contribute to national development through research, policy advice and advocacy; demand accountability from the national government, student leadership and management of the legal education across the country and promote excellence in academic work and students’ leadership.
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