President of the National Association of Law Students (NALS), Hassan Asare, has called for an independent investigation into the leakage of law entrance exam.

According to him, the Association has taken notice of the social media circulation, or leakage, of questions allegedly intended for the 2022/23 Ghana School of Law entrance examination originally scheduled for 10am on Friday, 23 September, 2022. With this, he condemned the happening which led to the cancellation of the exam.

Contained in a facebook post, Mr Asare revealed that this is not the first time this has happened. He recounted that in 2018, the entrance exam questions leaked and resulted in a supplementary exam two weeks after the exam was written. Also, in July 2022, the civil procedure paper of the professional law course was leaked.

Thus, he explained that the recent leakage, 2 months after the July leakage, makes this development not an isolated case.

“I call on the security agencies to immediately investigate with a view to bring persons associated with same to book.”
Hassan Asare

Mr Asare noted that these occurrences are an indictment on the Independent Examination Committee (IEC) and by extension the General Legal Council (GLC). He stated that the occurrences evinces their “inability to handle legal education, which, unfortunately, they continue” to be in charge of.

“Leakage of examination question is proof that people are desperate. When some have to use any means possible to succeed, then it is clear that such system will only favour those that have the means or are close to persons with such access. It goes without saying that access to professional legal education has to be opened immediately, without any further delay.”
Hassan Asare

Conduct of exam by for law students

The President of NALS highlighted that the conduct of entrance exam is “unnecessary and non-compliance will not be fatal”. He stated that regulation 1 of the Legal Profession (Professional and Post Call Law Course) Regulations 2018 (LI 2355) as amended by LI2427 states that the GLC may among other things, determine the number of students to be admitted to the Professional Law Course each academic year.

He emphasized that it may also allocate a quota to university that the council has approved to run Bachelor of law programs and allocate a quota to an institutions that the council has recognized the Professional Law Course and conduct an entrance examination for admission of students to the school.

Based on this, Mr Asare underscored that it is obvious that the GLC is “picking and choosing” instead of apply the whole provision of the law. As such, same discretion not to implement part of the law should be extended to cancel the entrance examination.

“In conclusion, any candidate, who out of good conscience and equity, decided to share the alleged questions when they sighted same, must be applauded for the boldness and decision to ensure that colleague candidates are not disadvantaged but the rot and weakness of the system is exposed.”
Hassan Asare