Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has urged President Akufo-Addo to constitute a legal education reform commission to find lasting solution to the legal education impasse in the country.
The Minority Leader stated that the Commission must include retired deans from the Ghana School of Law, including the University of Ghana, to ensure that appropriate proposals were made to transform the legal profession and find a solution to the issue.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on President Nana Akufo-Addo to, without any hesitation and as a matter of urgency, constitute a legal education reform commission, which must include a number of retired deans of the Ghana School of Law including Legon, to look into the matter”.
Haruna Iddrisu
Responding to a petition from the aggrieved law students, the Minority Leader said the inadequacy of space at the School of Law remains a major challenge confronting legal education in Ghana. He, therefore, appealed to the Government to make available enough resources to the Law School and the GLC to enable them to increase accessibility.
“I have no hesitation sharing your view for a clinical eye on legal education in Ghana in particular because I share your view that legal education is at an important point in Ghana today, and there is a disconnect between the number of persons desirous of acquiring a legal education today and wanting to develop careers in law and the opportunities available by way of space and professional opportunities for training”.
Haruna Iddrisu
·Aggrieved 499 law Students Request GSL to Reverse its Decision
·Ghana School of Law must admit the 499 students denied admission- Eduwatch
Inadequate space in law school can be dealt with
Haruna Iddrisu disclosed that the issue of space in the law school can be dealt with through adequate budgetary allocation to the Ghana School of Law and to the affected Ministry in order that they make access increasingly available without compromising quality.
Speaking on the 499 students who had been denied admission despite passing the entrance examination, he assured that Parliament would look into the merits of it and advise accordingly.
“As representatives of the people, we will subject it to a thorough scrutiny and debate and consequential action arising thereof will be applied adequately”.
Haruna Iddrisu
Ghana’s legal education system has received huge backlash from some law students, lawyers and the public over the last couple of years with many calling for immediate reforms in the legal profession, especially at the Ghana Legal Council (GLC).
Due to this, members of the National Association of Law Students embarked on a demonstration, to among other things, demand reforms in the country’s legal education system. The Association, led by its President, Mr. Asare Hassan, presented petitions to the leadership of Parliament, as well as to the Presidency for consideration.
Mr. Hassan urged Parliament to immediately intervene and ensure that all 499 students who obtained the pass mark were admitted into the Ghana School of Law.
