The Majority Whip, Hon. Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor has moved to calm anxiety among thousands of aspiring law students across Ghana following the passage of the Legal Education Act, 2026, declaring that the era of entrance examinations into professional legal training has officially come to an end.
The South Dayi legislator, who played a leading role in advocating for the passage of the legislation, said the new law has fundamentally changed Ghana’s legal education landscape by removing longstanding barriers that limited access to professional legal training and by dismantling the monopoly that had existed within the system for decades.
Speaking after presidential assent to the new law, Hon. Dafeamakpor described the development as a historic moment for legal education and for thousands of Bachelor of Laws graduates who have waited for broader opportunities to pursue careers at the Bar.
According to him, the implementation of the law takes effect immediately and creates an entirely new framework for the training, examination, and admission of future lawyers.
He said one of the most significant outcomes of the legislation is that the Ghana School of Law no longer retains exclusive authority to train law graduates for professional practice.
Hon. Dafeamakpor explained that under the new law, even the Ghana School of Law itself must now apply for accreditation like every other institution that intends to provide professional legal training.
He said public and private universities already operating law faculties now have the opportunity to seek accreditation and offer professional law training, creating what he described as a wider and fairer system of access for students across the country.
No Entrance Exams Under the New Law
Addressing what he described as widespread confusion among prospective students, Hon. Dafeamakpor stated categorically that there is no provision under the new law for any entrance examination into professional legal training.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no entrance examination under this law. Section 90 of the law, as part of the transitional provisions, revokes the LI 2355-2018, which mandates the IEC to organize any form of exams at all for the law school, including entrance exams.”
Hon. Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor, MP for South Dayi and Majority Whip
According to him, the legal instrument that granted the council such powers has now been repealed by operation of the new law, effectively removing any authority for the council to conduct entrance examinations.
“By operation of law, the Independent Examination Council has no power under this law to organise any entrance examination,” Mr Dafeamakpor stated. He urged students to rely on the gazetted legislation rather than speculation, social media commentary, or unofficial interpretations.
Hon. Dafeamakpor also revealed that notices that recently appeared online suggesting possible examination dates had already been withdrawn because they were not authorised. He said information on relevant websites would soon be updated to reflect the new legal reality.
Admissions to Begin This Year
Hon. Dafeamakpor disclosed that implementation of the law will begin immediately with the establishment of the new Council for Legal Education and Training, the institution created under Section One of the legislation to regulate admissions, accreditation, curriculum standards, and examinations.
According to him, the Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, has already made clear that implementation will begin without delay. Hon. Dafeamakpor said the government is expected to move quickly to constitute the council, appoint its Director General and Registrar, and begin receiving applications from universities seeking accreditation.
He expressed confidence that the process would be completed by July, allowing accredited institutions to begin admissions in August and start academic activities in September for the 2026 academic year.
He said students hoping to begin professional legal studies this year should remain calm and prepare to apply directly to accredited institutions once the process opens. “Absolutely, there will be no entrance examination in the 2026 academic year,” he said.
One Year Professional Training
Beyond admissions reform, Hon. Dafeamakpor said the law introduces major curriculum changes aimed at producing practice-ready lawyers in a shorter period.
He explained that professional legal training will now be reduced from two years to one year, with academically oriented subjects such as taxation, company law, family law, and labour law expected to be fully integrated into undergraduate law programmes.
This shift, he said, will allow professional students to focus more intensively on practical legal skills including civil procedure, criminal procedure, advocacy, legislative drafting, evidence, interpretation, and law firm management.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that students completing the programme are fully prepared for immediate legal practice after qualification.
National Bar Exams Replace School Based Exams
The South Dayi lawmaker also announced that law schools will no longer conduct final qualifying examinations. Instead, all professional students will sit a new National Bar Examination to be administered by an independent national body.
He said some reform advocates are proposing that the examination be held twice each year to allow students more flexibility in qualifying for practice. According to him, the new examination system removes the bottleneck associated with entry-level examinations and places assessment at the point where students have already completed their training.
He rejected suggestions that the new system merely shifts the existing pressure from admission to graduation. He said the two situations are fundamentally different because students taking the National Bar Examination would already have completed their studies and would simply be demonstrating readiness for practice.
Students Urged to Read the Law
Hon. Dafeamakpor urged law students and graduates to study the new legislation carefully and avoid being influenced by individuals with commercial interests tied to the old examination system.
He said some actors had turned entrance examinations into profitable businesses and were resisting reforms that threaten those financial interests. He encouraged students to read Sections 45 and 90 of the gazetted law for clarity on admissions, transition arrangements, and institutional changes.
As Ghana begins implementing what many are describing as the most significant legal education reform in decades, the focus now shifts from policy to execution, with thousands of aspiring lawyers waiting for the first admissions under the new system.
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