Over 900 persons are reported to have been passed by the Independent Examination Committee of the General Legal Council, including 499 students who were denied admission into the Ghana School of Law two years ago but later admitted after a series of protests and appeals.

Speaking to Citi News after the release of the results, the immediate past SRC President of the Ghana School of Law, Odupong Agyapong Atta-Agyapong, said this year’s ceremony will record the highest number of persons to be called to the bar.

“It’s exciting how students are reacting on their WhatsApp pages and statuses. For the first time, we are going to have over 900 students called to the Ghana bar. It’s quite historic given the turn of events in the past” he said.

Atta-Agyapong urged students who did not make it on the list to remain steadfast and work towards being called in the mini-call in March next year.

“It’s not the end of the road. We have a mini-call, and it’s expected that next year these students will be offered the opportunity to sit for the supplementary exams, and when they are successful, they will be called” he added.

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In a fierce contest between five competitors, Gertrude Emefa Donkor, an alumna of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration emerged victorious with 698 of the votes representing 46.6 per cent of the votes, followed by Emily Afriyie Mensah who came out with 452 representing 30 per cent of the votes.

The other candidates; Sixtus Don Ullo, Farouk Mayonga and Michael Osei Koranteng came 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.

The election season was characteristic of promises of ensuring the betterment of student life on campus. Consequent to her victory, Ms. Donkor shall be sworn in, taking over from Mr Odupong Agyapong Atta-Agyapong, and would lead the student populace for the next academic year.

Her main promises included policies on making studies easier for students, shuttle systems to help with students’ transport as the cost of transportation increases, and the incorporation of self-check mechanisms to make the SRC more transparent and accountable.

Her success is indicative of the swing the legal profession is having towards women in ensuring that women play a crucial part in all parts of governance.

In her appreciation message to the student body, Ms. Donkor expressed her gratitude for the overwhelming support and trust reposed in her.

She encouraged her colleagues to now move from competition to collaboration. “Let us move forward together with unity, conviction, and purpose and let us never forget that we are all in this together, sharing a common goal and common destiny.”

She also used the opportunity to wish the students the best of luck in the 2022/2023 end of Academic year exams.

According to him, it is not their job to do so as legal education is the domain of legal educators and not the Chief Justice.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he explained that the core mandate of the Chief Justice is to superintend over the justice delivery system and the judicial service rather than meddle in how legal education is carried out in the country.

“No Chief Justice will be able to reform legal education in this country. It is not their job. Chief Justices are there to superintend justice delivery systems from the corridors of the judicial service and the judiciary. Legal education is not part and parcel of judicial activism,” he stated.

He noted that the problem with Ghana’s legal education system is the fact that it has been merged with the justice delivery system rather than it being treated as part of the general education system.

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“Elsewhere you have legal education as a separate and distinct thing from the justice delivery system. They are not cut out for legal education. So we’re better off leaving legal education in the hands of legal educators, period!

“So believe you me no Chief Justice – if I have to cast my vote I’ll cast my vote for none of them. Because I don’t expect any of them, be it Yonny Kulendi or Gertrude Torkonoo to come and reshape the legal environment. It’s not possible.

“So I have always held the view that Ghana as a nation will be better off if legal education is entrusted in the hands of those who are trained to be legal educators and are therefore [in] the legal education environment.

“Apart from that, what I can say in this regard is if anybody should tell you that either Justice Gertrude Torkonoo or Yonny Kulendi as Chief Justice or whatever will undertake any reform in legal education I do not think the person is speaking truth,” he argued.

Deputy Information Minister, Fatima Abubakar, has said a decision to put Ghanaian YouTuber, Elorm Ababio aka Ama Governor’s call to the bar on hold is not a novelty.

Without mentioning names, the Minister, who is also a lawyer on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem show, said people had suffered similar fates in the past.

This, she explained, was due to their failure to demonstrate good character as expected of students of the law.

Ama Governor was expected to be called to the Ghana Bar on Friday as she graduates with her colleagues to formally join the profession.

Despite her successful completion of the professional law programme that saw her pass her exams and scale the interview session as well, this dream will not come to fruition.

This decision, according to the General Legal Council, follows a complaint received from a ‘concerned citizen’ alleging that she ‘lacks good character’.

A three-member committee has since been set up to investigate the matter while her call has been put on hold pending the outcome of the investigation.

Reacting to the development, Madam Abubakr noted Ama will not be the first nor the last to suffer such a situation though she is not privy to the basis in her case.

“There are two things expected of any student before you can be called to the bar; the first is to pass your exams and also demonstrate good character.

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“You go before a panel who determines the good character after an interview and though it is discretionary, it is very important,” she said.

The Minister, however, urged Ama to take advantage of the committee’s hearing.

“She has every right to petition and it is the right of natural law and I believe the law school also holds that view so they will set up a panel for her to come and respond,” she added.

Audio attached above:

It is “a reiteration of general caution to the student body to abide by the school’s code of conduct within and outside the school including social media platforms,” a statement issued by the SRC on Wednesday noted.

The statement also emphasised that while the school management seeks to ensure that majority of qualified students are called to the Bar each year by the admonition, “no such directive has been given to any student by the Management of the school.”

The Director of the Law School, Yaw Oppong, made the request for “everybody” “to provide their social media handles” for monitoring of students’ conduct during the swearing-in ceremony of new SRC Executives.

The request, which has since become topical, has been condemned in many circles, with some calling it an affront to the student’s constitutional right to free expression.

Below is the statement by the SRC:

Yaw Acheampong Boafo, speaking on JoyNews’ The Law, argued that the GCL has the mandate to establish its own rules for examination.

Thus, the Council’s rules and regulations on the upcoming entrance examination are justified.

“Every examination body has its own rules and there is no declaration of human rights on examination. People get very emotional about the matter,” he stated on Sunday.

Explaining further, Mr Boafo said the GCL’s personnel capacity is limited and cannot take on re-marking.

He also noted that the re-marking could also disrupt the academic calendar of the Ghana School of Law.

“With the entrance examination, when the results are in the academic year is about to start. So it stands to reason that for the Law School’s survival the entrance examination shouldn’t have the same rules around it as Part One or Part Two.

“You have 2,500 students writing an examination and then about 900 or 1,000 people pass. This year, the examination will be written on September 23, the Law School has its calendar, just imagine you have 1,000 remarking scripts are we going to say that the Law School should hold one to go through those processes and have a delayed academic calendar?” he quizzed.

In July, news broke that GCL will ask prospective students of the Ghana Law School to sign an undertaking that bars requests for re-marking of scripts, re-tallying of scores, or review or marks.

Candidates cannot also request to see their marked answer scripts or the marking schemes used for marking the questions.

This raised eyebrows with many influential persons including Private Legal Practitioner, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, describing it as obnoxious.

But the GBA President sees nothing wrong with the undertaking.

In his view, there is nothing preventing anyone from studying law, however, the GCL cannot be forced to “open their arms to let everyone in.”

He further told the candidates to be limit their expectation since dreams are not always meant to come true.

“The idea that I have expressed a desire to be a lawyer doesn’t mean I have to be a lawyer. When we were kids, we all wanted to be pilots but Ghana Airways is collapsed now. So the expression of desire does not necessarily mean that there is a corresponding obligation to let your desire come true,” he said.

In an interaction on the JoyNews’ The Law on Sunday, he stated that the name of the area where the Ghana School of Law is located, Makola, has two meanings in the Ga language, depending on the tone used in pronouncing the last syllable ‘la’.

“So we have a meaning that tells you blood and the meaning that tells you fire. Either way, I understand etymologically, it applies to the place,” Mr. Oppong told Samson Lardy Anyenini.

Expatiating on the fire aspect of the meaning, he said it originated from “an old man who lived at the location years ago, and those days they could set fire by hitting two stones together and fire was one of the most important sources of energy and power. So I am going to fetch or take fire –Makola.”

He went on to say that the second meaning which people don’t want to associate with, “means I am going to fetch blood.”

He noted that it was said that during those days “there were vampires or people who were into attacking others for their blood or armed robbers.”

According to him, he sees Makola as the center of Ghana, adding that he aligns with the fire meaning of the name.

This, he explained, is because “you see the generosity of a person and how he wants to ensure that others have access to the most important thing of the time, which is fire.”

“With the fire, all of us have become lawyers. This is about the fire of education and legal training and the name has never had any negative effect on us so we will rather prefer the one that means positivity, progress and advancement,” he added.

The 10 include Emmanuel Dei-Tumi Jnr, Emmeline Ziwu, Prosper Batariwah, Adwoa Serwaa Asamoah, Benjamin, Bentsi-Enchill, Codjoe Ezekiel, Akotigah Sylvanus, Clement Ocran-Biney, Abena Fosua Nyameye Korankye and Danielle Karikari-Darko.

In his address, the Lebanese Ambassador, Maher Kheir, noted that Ghana’s stable democracy is primarily hinged on its strong rule of law.

This he says, has made the country a shining example on the international stage and boosted socio-economic development.

“Ghana’s legal system is the foundation for its rule of law. From 1992 till now, Ghana’s stable democracy has thrived because of the selfless work of legal professionals like judges, lawyers among others,” he said.

Furthermore, he urged the beneficiaries to use their education to serve the interest of society rather than themselves.

“As our world becomes smaller, many people whose voices cannot be heard, continue to suffer at the hands of powerful men, institutions and nations. It is our hope that this scholarship will cushion you to be the voice of the voiceless and bridge the gap,” he noted`.

Director of the School of Law, Makola, Mr Yaw Oppong lauded the Ambassador and the Lebanese Community for the gesture especially their consistency in sponsoring students from the institution.

“We are very grateful for this sponsorship given to our students. It is very timely and we don’t take it for granted,” he said.

The scholarship, he noted, will cushion the students and their families while giving them the space to adequately concentrate on their studies.

One of the beneficiaries Emmanuel De-Tumi thanked the Ambassador and the Community for the generous gesture and promised that the students will honour the confidence reposed in them.

“Over the past five years we have enjoyed the consistent support of the Lebanese Community through this scholarship. Indeed it has been very helpful and we’re truly grateful.

“I want to assure His Excellency that we will not disappoint you. We’ll work hard to be successful in our academics and profession to make the community proud,” he stated.

Since 2013, the Lebanese Scholarship Program assisted around 300 Ghanaian students in media and law disciplines covering the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana.

Under the leadership of Mr Maher Kheir, students at the School of Languages and the School of Performing Arts both at the University of Ghana were added to the scheme in 2020.

Speaking to JoyNews, Wonder Victor Kutor, who had been on an official trip to Texas in the U.S., said he arrived in the country only to hear the news that his colleague SRC executives were ganging up to remove him from office.

“Unfortunately, some are trying to sidestep the law at the Law School where we must uphold the rule of law,” he said.

According to a notice signed by Secretary of the School SRC Safo Kwame Oheneba, Mr Kutor has been interdicted over alleged financial impropriety.

He explained that this was after being accused of buying a car for the SRC from his company and his personal use under questionable circumstances.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Mr Kutor said the move is unlawful, and he is still at post.

He insists that even the procedure used by his colleagues to convene an Executive Council meeting to take the said action was not regular and did not conform to the dictates of the SRC constitution.

“As president, I chair the Executive Council; before you call an executive council meeting, the procedure is that I will instruct the secretary to issue notices to all members of the Executive Council; there was no such thing.

“Even if it was an emergency meeting, the secretary must always put me in the known and get approval from me before we can hold an executive meeting.”

According to the president of the SRC he does not understand the indecent haste because the issue in contention is before the student court, and also the management of the school has initiated processes to investigate the allegations against him.

“I am the president; the students elected me, I will be in my office, we are working, the SRC goes beyond issuing notices, we are not in a lawless state, things must be done properly and procedurally,” he said.

However, he said if the SRC court rules that he should step aside after adverse findings are made against him, he will comply.

Mr Kutor assured the Ghana School of Law students that he will continue to discharge his duties faithfully and diligently.

This comes on the back of allegations of financial malfeasance levelled against Mr Kutor.

The embattled SRC President has been accused of buying a car for the SRC from his company and another for his personal use under questionable circumstances.

He was earlier asked to step aside pending an independent investigation into the matter.

His interdiction was announced in a statement signed by the SRC Secretary, Safo Kwame Oheneba.

The statement indicated the decision was taken in accordance with Article 34(d) and (e) of the School’s SRC constitution.

“The interdiction is grounded on, among others, a prima facie case established upon the probing of Mr Wonder Kutor before the Executive Council on April 7, 2022, and subsequent admissions in a radio interview on Citi FM on April 12, 2022, which acts bring the SRC into disrepute,” part of the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Council has appointed the Vice President of the Greenhill campus, Yoofi Impraim, as interim President until the findings of the Investigation Committee are ready.

“Mr Kutor is, therefore, in the interim is, not to be recognised or dealt with as SRC President. The SRC Executive Council shall in writing subsequently communicate the end of the interdiction if necessitated by the findings of the Committee,” it added.

Below is the council’s statement:

Maxwell Opoku Agyemang says the building now serves as the Kumasi Campus of the Law school.

“Indeed, it should be made known that one offer of admission paved the way for the release of an entire building at KNUST which serves as the Kumasi Campus of the Law School.

“This enabled the School to increase the intake in Kumasi from 50 to over 200 as well as securing places for a library, staff common room, administration facility and a canteen for the students.

“I must stress all the decisions taken in my one year as Acting Director were in the best interest of the School and students,” he stated in a statement to the press.

Mr Agyemang has been indicted by a General Legal Council committee inquiry for admitting 10 students illegally into the Ghana School of Law.

He and two other officials are to face the General Legal Council’s Disciplinary Committee.

Mr Agyemang is currently being considered by the Presidency for appointment as a Court of Appeal judge.

However, there are multiple suits and complaints filed at various quarters seeking to block the appointment even before it materialises.

The former Director of the Law school has in a statement been clarifying matters.

Read the full statement below:

BRIEF RESPONSE TO THE MEDIA DISCUSSION ON PURPORTED NOMINATION TO THE COURT OF APPEAL

My attention has been drawn to various media publications and discussions on my suitability or otherwise to be recommended for an appointment as a Court of Appeal Judge. The basis for these discussions is the alleged unlawful admission of 10 students into the Ghana School of Law. For the records I have not been officially notified or contacted for the said nomination neither has I been served with any court process or copies of multiple petitions circulating on social media.

The Facts

I was appointed as an Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law in June 2020. Prior to this appointment, I have worked as a Senior Lecturer of the School from 1998. As it is widely known, the General Legal Council introduced Entrance Examinations for entry into the Ghana School of Law from 2012 as part of the reforms for professional legal education. This policy restricted entry into the Ghana School of Law to only LLB holders who passed the entrance examination with a percentage of 50+.  My views on these reforms are of public knowledge and, therefore, need not be repeated.

However, it is of public knowledge that I have been against the said restrictions and has always advocated for the opening of more opportunities for LLB holders to achieve their heart desires. Apart from the restrictive nature of admissions to the School, the Council also operated “a zero-concession admission policy” which meant that no concession whatsoever was extended to the wards of key stakeholders, including members of staff and faculty.

As a matter of fact, this policy was used to deny, not only my ward but wards of other lecturers and staff, admission to the School after obtaining scores ranging from 46 to 49 percent. I considered this policy as unfair especially on my part after 23 years of dedicated service to the School.

Upon assumption of office, and considering my long-held views on the admission policy, I submitted two policy proposals for consideration namely, Concessionary Admission Policy and Full Fee-Paying Policy.

The Concession Admission Policy was to offer concessionary admissions to wards of faculty, staff and other key stakeholders without compromising the meritorious admission system.

The Full Fee-Paying System was meant to stem the tide of Ghanaian students travelling to other jurisdictions, notably the Gambia to pursue a professional legal education.

It was meant to reduce the cut-off point for those desirable and ready to pay the full cost of the education as it is done in all public universities for their sought after programmes. For instance, in the 2021/2022 academic year, 330 Ghanaians applied to enter the Gambia School of Law paying $100 as application fees.

Out of the number, only 55 were admitted paying almost $10000 as School fees for one year. Apart from saving our compatriots the hassle in travelling to other countries, the policy was also to be used to generate revenue for the expansion of infrastructure to admit more students at the Ghana School of Law.

Admission of 10 students

In the 2020/2021 academic year, I managed to convince the General Legal Council to admit all students who scored 50 per cent and above. This culminated in the admission of 1045 students.

The admission of this number of students led to the introduction of the innovative triple track system of classes which created the potential to admit almost 1100 students.

In addition to the 1045 students, the school offered concessionary admission to 10 students upon request from key stakeholders who have contributed immensely to the school and the nation as a whole. This brought the total admission to 1055, compared to the 450 admitted in 2018/2019 and the 128 students admitted in 2017/18 academic year.

Admittedly, the offer of the 10 concessionary admissions was made without the approval of the General Legal Council but was not done in secrecy. The issue was brought to the attention of the Chairperson of the Examinations Committee. Other key members of the Council were also aware due to discussions on the issue prior to the admissions. These admissions were offered without any ill-motive or for any personal gain but in the interest of the Gnana School of Law.

Indeed, it should be made known that one offer of admission paved the way for the release of an entire building at KNUST which serves as the Kumasi Campus of the Law School.

This enabled the School to increase the intake in Kumasi from 50 to over 200 as well as securing places for a library, staff common room, administration facility and a canteen for the students. I must stress all the decisions taken in my one year as Acting Director were in the best interest of the School and students.

In fact, in addition to the admission of the 1055 students, I was also instrumental in securing the approval of the Council to introduce a Transitional Law Course Programme which paved the way for over 274 students to be allowed to re-enter the School to finish their one-year programme. These were students who were caught by the reversal of professional law to two years without any transition period for repeating students.

The New Transitional Law Programme enabled the affected students to continue with the one-year programme for three years after which they would be withdrawn. All these were done to offer opportunities to enter the Ghana School of Law. This has been my avowed aim for the over 23 years that I have served the school.

General Legal Council Investigations Committee

The General Legal Council on or about July 2021 established a 3-member committee to investigate allegations of admission of non-LLB holders to the Ghana School of Law; admission of students who did not write the entrance examinations; the payment of monies for admission to the Law School and other issues. The Committee found all the reportage as false except the admission of the 10 students on concessionary basis.

The Committee found as a fact that all the 10 students wrote the Entrance Examination but failed to secure 50 per cent or more. The Committee found as a fact that the said admissions were done without the approval of the General Legal Council. 

The Committee, therefore, concluded that the said admissions were irregular. The General Legal Council accepted the recommendations of the Council that those 10 students admitted without the approval of the Council based on my proposed concessionary admission policy be withdrawn from the School.

The students have been duly withdrawn. Further, the Council has set up a three-member Disciplinary Committee to conduct disciplinary hearings against myself, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar of the school on charges of insubordination and acting improperly in our office contrary to the provisions of the Public Service Policy and Framework Manual for Public Servants. The Disciplinary Committee is yet to commence its proceedings let alone pronounce any sanctions.

My Public Record

As stated earlier, I have served the Ghana School of Law for over 23 years. My passion and commitment to legal education is known by all, especially thousands of students who have passed through my hands.

In all my public life I have stood firmly on principles I believe into the displeasure of some segments of society, which to me is normal. I must emphasize that in all my dealings in public no one can accuse me of corrupt acts or rendering services for unlawful gain.

As the Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law, I performed my task diligently and sought at all times to change the face of professional legal education. As already indicated, the admission of 10 additional students on a concessionary basis to the 1045 students admitted for the 2020/2021 academic year was not done for any personal or pecuniary gain.

There were no underhand dealings, as all the requests for admissions were considered officially. I must stress and without sounding boastful that I performed very creditably in just one year as an Acting Director. Short as the period may seem, I was able to facilitate the following projects at the school:

• Massive renovation of the entire Makola campus, the first since the construction of the School in 1958
• Construction of 20 additional washrooms to cater for the increasing number of students
• Asphalting and paving the entire Makola campus
• Construction of a new 100-seater classroom at the Makola campus
• Construction of an astroturf for the School’s quadrangle
• Renovation of the school’s water fountain
• Construction of a modern and imposing Law school entrance
• Rehabilitation of the two residential facilities at Taifa
• Commencement of the construction of the Law Village project at Legon, a project which was on the drawing board for over 20 years
• Securing a 57- Seater bus from the office of the President for the School
• Securing a 47-seater bus from the office of the Vice President for the School
• Purchase of 57-seater modern Marco Polo bus from the IGF of the School
• Purchase of Nissan Urvan Mini bus in collaboration with the SRC of the School
• Procurement of Landcruiser Prado for the Office of the Director from the IGF
• Procurement of Toyota Fortuner for the office of the Registrar from the IGF
• Procurement of Toyota Corrolla for the office of the Deputy Registrar from the IGF
• Securing the entire ICIL Building at KNUST rent free for the Kumasi Campus
• Introduction of industry specific short courses to generate revenue for the School
• Mobilising over Eight Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis  {GHȻ800,000}from alumni and corporate sponsors
• Admitting over 1000 students and introducing the triple track class system in the 2020/2021 academic year
• Introduction of the New Transitional Law Programme for almost 300 repeating students
• Ensuring the Call to the Bar of over 650 students in the midst of COVID 19

Conclusion

Much as I do not begrudge anyone who feels offended by my decision to introduce a concessionary admission policy at the Ghana School of Law, leading to the admission of 10 students without approval of the General Legal Council, it is my wish that the issue be considered dispassionately and in consideration of the service I have rendered to the Ghana School of Law.

Rather than sounding repetitive, I still hold the view that denying admissions on some concessionary basis to key stakeholders of the school, such as faculty, staff and others who have contributed immensely to the School is unfair.

It is my hope that the General Legal Council and the public at large will ponder over whether it is fair for a ward of a member of faculty or staff to be denied admission to the Ghana School of Law for obtaining between 47% and 49% in an entrance examination.

As I have done consistently, save as I admitted the 10 students in addition to the 1045 students for the 2020/2021 academic year without the approval of the General Legal Council, for which I apologised to the Council, same was not done for any personal or pecuniary interest but in the best interest of the School.

The Committee is, therefore, recommending their withdrawal from the school.

Admission into the only school running the professional law programme remains a contentious matter as every year, thousands of students fail the entrance examination.

This has resulted in calls for investigations.

This year, only 790 out of more than 2,000 students who wrote the exam gained admission into the Ghana School of Law.

Some 499 others, who insisted they had passed, have since been granted admission following weeks of agitation and legal action.

The investigations into alleged unlawful admission commenced following allegations that some students who took the exam last year who should not have been admitted were admitted nonetheless.

The Council also directed that then Ag. Director of the Ghana School of Law, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar should be subjected to disciplinary proceedings.

A copy of minutes of a February 14, 2022 GLC meeting sighted by JoyNews notes the following:

“Council decided that the 10 students who were identified in the Committee of Inquiry’s report as having been admitted illegally by the then Acting Director, Maxwell Opoku Agyemang, should be withdrawn immediately from the Ghana School of Law.

“The Secretary to the General Legal Council was to convey this decision to the students.

“Council constituted a three-member Disciplinary Committee made up of Amoak Afoko, Kwaku Gyau Baffour and Professor Raymond Atuguba to subject the then Ag. Director of the Ghana School of Law, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar for disciplinary proceedings.”

This was contained in the 2022 annual budget submitted by the office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice to the Finance Ministry.

“The General Legal Council enrolled a total of 309 lawyers to the Bar in 2021. The Council successfully disposed of 120 disciplinary cases out of 130 complaints received against lawyers as of September 2021.

“The Independent Examination Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) conducted entrance examination for 2,884 applicants and out of these, 790 of the applicants were admitted while 499 applicants are awaiting admission next year,” portions of the statement read.

The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, earlier gave the GLC, three options to ensure the students get the opportunity to get legal education.

He said fairness required that when the GLC decided to change the pass mark, they should have communicated it.

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He added that the failure of the GLC to publish the pass mark in the Daily Graphic notice was a material defect that created doubt about the process.

Meanwhile, South Dayi Member of Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, reacting to the development, noted it is a pointer that one must never sleep on his rights.

From an initial vehement denial in Court that the 499 failed to an admission in Parliament that they actually passed the entrance Exams & are due to commence studies in January 2022, is a pointer that one must never sleep on his rights.

CONGRATULATIONS to my dear APOLLO 499. pic.twitter.com/3nwnvHChiA

— Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq. MP. (@etsedafeamekpor) December 16, 2021

Kwasi Anin Yeboah explained that he has not been authorised by the General Legal Council (GLC), a body he chairs, to release the said documents.

“I am unfortunately not authorised by the Council to release the requested documents relating to the ongoing investigation. The constituted committee is yet to report to the Council on any progress to date,” he said.

In a letter to the Chief Justice, the MP had indicated it had come to his attention that a fact-finding committee was set up by the (GLC), chaired by the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, to investigate the matter.

Admission into the only school running the professional law programme remains a contentious matter as every year, thousands of students fail the entrance examination.

This year, only 790 out of more than 2,000 students who wrote the exam gained admission into the Ghana School of Law.

However, 499 others who had assisted they had passed have since been granted admission following weeks of agitation and legal action.

Mr Dafeamekpor, in the letter to the Council, said some students who took the exam last year and should not have been admitted were, nonetheless, admitted.

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The MP said he is aware that the outgoing President of the Ghana Bar Association, Anthony Forson Jnr, chaired the committee tasked to investigate the matter.

The committee is said to have queried and received responses from the Acting Director of the school, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar.

The MP wanted all these documents made available to him, arguing that Ghana’s constitution and the Right to Information law allow him to access these documents.

He wanted these documents made available to him in seven days.

The Chief Justice says he will table the request to the GLC at its next meeting for consideration.

The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court has adjourned the case involving a section of LLB holders denied admission to the Ghana Law School and the General Legal Council (GLC) to November 9, 2021.

This was when some of the aggrieved students made their first appearance in the court presided over by Justice Nicholas Mensah Abodakpi on Friday, October 29, 2021.

The students claimed in their writ on October 22, 2021, that their fundamental human rights have been violated by the regulatory body.

They are, therefore, praying the Court to compel the Ghana School of Law to admit them into the institution, having met the required pass mark (50%) in the entrance exam.

But when the case Daniel Sackey and 142 others vs the General Legal Council was called, the Attorney General requested for an adjournment to file certain processes which the court granted.

The Assistant State Attorney, Patricia Ayirebe Acquah, told the court that all parties have agreed to the request following consultations.

Lawyers for the applicant, Martin Kpebu, and GLC, Nana Yaw Ntrekwah corroborated that position.

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However, Mr Kpebu indicated his clients will be filing a supplementary response once they are served with the AG’s processes.

Mr Sackey, one of the applicants, urged his colleagues to remain resolute and believe in the court system.

Some 499 LLB students, who sat for the 2020/2021 Ghana School Law 2021 Entrance Exam, failed.

Out of the many students from the various law faculties across the country who sat for the exam, only 790 passed representing approximately 28% while the failure represents 72%.

Some of the candidates denied admission have been agitating and accusing the General Legal Council (GLC) of being responsible for their inability to gain admission following a new quota system.

The GLC, the body in charge of legal education in Ghana, has come under fire for this development, especially since it applied new directives requiring candidates to pass 50% in each of the two sections A and B in the exam, a rule some students say did not exist prior to the examination.

Some have argued this was not communicated to them prior to the exam, a notice they said would have influenced their learning and answering strategies.

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Clad in red and black attire, they converged at the Independence Square in Accra on Wednesday, October 20, 2021.

The aggrieved students wielded placards with various inscriptions to express their displeasure about the development.

Some of them read: Stop fraustrating law students, We did not fail, law school is not a family property, it is not a crime to study law in Ghana among others.

They have suggested it should be done either through virtual or face-to-face school.

Their proposal is in line with comments by private legal practitioner, Professor Kwaku that the candidates did not fail but were denied access to the law school due to lack of space.

The 2021 entrance exam saw 28 percent of the LLB candidates gain entrance to Ghana’s only institution for training lawyers.

The applicants were examined on six subject areas that were: Constitutional Law, Immovable Property, Contract Law, Tort, Criminal Law, and the Ghana Legal System.

Some 790 out of 2,824 candidates passed the exam which was organised in August.

The pass rate is in line with previous records, except for 2020, where 1,045 students out of 2,763 passed.

The re-occurring incident has sparked rage among a section of applicants amid claims most of the people denied admissions clocked the 50 pass mark.

Africa Watch, in a statement, opined the action contradicts the government’s agenda of doubling tertiary enrolment by 2030 and creating equal career opportunities.

They argued the action by the Council to deny the students access to legal education is unfair and cannot be justified, hence their proposal.

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Meanwhile, the National Union of Ghana Students and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to order a probe of the mass failure and ensure the applicants who passed are admitted.

Read the full statement below:

Admit the 499 – Eduwatch to Ghana Law School by Gertrude Otchere on Scribd

On Adom FM’s Burning Issues, programme, a member of the law students body, Hassan Asare accused the GLC of not giving audience to the 499 law students who consider themselves to have been unfairly treated.

He said although the students have petitioned the GLC to reconsider its new law, there has not been any response.

Rather, he said, the GLC has asked the 790 students who were considered qualified to start their process.

“One of the things that, for example, I am pushing for, is to say that dissolve the whole GLC. Why did the Rasta boy get admitted into Achimota school when it was ruled that, he should be admitted but the Legal Council have not done anything bought the 499 laws students,” he asked.

He cautioned that the students will stage a demonstration if the Legal Council does not consider its decision and allow them entry to the school.

“We have been able to write to the police about our intention to demonstrate; it’s in our plan that we are embarking on demonstration, latest by next week Wednesday,” he indicated.

Kinsley Mcdonalds who says he’s written the entrance exams for the fourth time this year said the latest situation has shattered his dreams.

“Around 2017, I didn’t have any job and my mum was at the morgue but I still pushed hard to write the exams due to my passion for the job but I was failed through an interview,” he said.

Listen to the students in the audio below:

Mr Sosu, who is also a Deputy Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, wants Mr Bagbin to order the Ghana Legal Council to submit the raw scores of the exam for verification and review by the committee.

According to him, his petition is in line with the principles of transparency, accountability, and effective separation of powers as enshrined in the 1992 constitution.

“Article 37(1) of the 1992 Constitution provides that the State shall endeavor to secure and protect a social order founded on the ideals and principle of freedom, equality, justice, probity, and accountability as enshrined in Chapter 5 of this Constitution; and in particular, the State shall direct its policy towards ensuring every citizen has equality of rights, obligations, and opportunities before the law,” the Human Rights lawyer noted.

The 2021 entrance exam saw 28 percent of the LLB candidates gain entrance to Ghana’s only institution for training lawyers.

Some 790 out of 2,824 candidates passed the exam which was organised in August.

The pass rate is in line with previous records, except for 2020, where 1,045 students out of 2,763 passed.

Therefore, the legislator believes the probe will afford the country the opportunity to know if the scores are based on actual performance of students during examinations or a lack of infrastructure to accommodate more people.

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“As such, there is the need for investigations to ascertain whether or not the pass rates and scores are based on the actual performance of students during examinations, or as a result of lack of available infrastructure to accommodate the excess numbers, hence this petition,” he added.

Read the full petition below: