The legal profession is a noble one for many around the world and yearly Ghanaians both young and old aspire to gain admission into the country’s school of law.
Although various institutions run law programs, to become a lawyer and be able to practice, one needs to gain admission first into the Ghana School of Law.
But it is not that easy. The Ghana School of Law is the only institution mandated to train lawyers.
The school is the only one that provides training for law graduates in the Barrister at Law program.
The Professional Law Course is designed for Law Graduates who have obtained an LLB degree and have passed the entrance examination.
To gain admission into the Ghana School of Law, candidates must write an entrance exam and to graduate students must pass their final exams.
But in recent years there have been several controversies over the rate of failure among exam candidates.
The Ghana School of Law this month recorded mass examination failure after candidates sat for it’s entrance exams.
Out of nearly 1,820 prospective students, only 128 reportedly passed the entrance examination, according to local media reporting.
A notice from the school showed that more than 90 percent of those who sat for the entrance exam failed to secure admission.
That is coming only months after more than half of the candidates that sat for the Bar exams failed as well.
It appears it is no longer rare but a yearly routine for students aspiring to become lawyers to fail on a large scale.
Concerns over failure rate
Emerging concerns have gone beyond the failure rate of students with some calling for a total overhaul of the legal education system in Ghana.
1820 students wrote the law school entrance exam in Ghana! Only 128 students passed!
Something fishy is going on!
— Nungua Black Head (@Femiscious_D) September 25, 2019
Ghana Law Entrance Exams.
Just 128 out of 1820 pass law school entrance exams! HOW ! Hmmm1820-128= 1692
GHC 450 per head.
1820×450= 819000.
Thinking OUT Loud!!
This is just not fair and right ?, my opinion though— ENOCH KWARTENG (@drpagato) September 25, 2019
Ghana has more ministers than students who passed the law school entrance exams. 128/1820! Herh ?
— David Asare Asiamah (@dvdasiamah) September 25, 2019
But Ghana’s Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo had said that she was not willing to open up legal education to more people.
She warns that limiting the number of people who gain access to legal education is the only way to guarantee quality.
Akuffo said “Those of you lawyers and those of your lecturers who are busy advocating free scale, mass admissions into the professional law course, and mass production of lawyers, to be careful what you wish for. So long as I have anything to do with it, it won’t happen.
Just like you can’t mass produce doctors and surgeons, Ghanaians must not have mass-produced lawyers imposed on them.”
It seems the controversy will remain just for now until something changes; either students find a way to pass law school exams or the school finds a way to pass the students.
Source: Africafeeds.com
