The saga surrounding the refusal to admit the four hundred and ninety-nine (499) law student by the General Legal Council (GCL) seem to have taken another twist as Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General (AG), has come up with three (3) options which is aimed at ensuring that the students gets opportunity to get wish to legal education.
The directive from the Attorney General follows the decision by the GCL earlier to deny the said students the opportunity to legal education.
A letter which was intercepted by an Accra base radio station revealed that, the AG has given the Council three options to ensure the students get the opportunity to get legal education.
According the letter, the AG pointed out that fairness required that that when the GLC decided to change the pass mark, they should have communicated it.
The letter continued that the failure of the GLC to publish the pass mark in a state newspaper, the Daily Graphic, notice was a material defect that created doubt about the process.
Acting in pursuant to Section 1(15) of Act 32, the AG directed the GLC to:
- Grant deferred admission to the 499 candidates with effect from May, 2022.
- A special provision can be made for the first-year professional law course by candidates already admitted to run from October, 2021 to April, 2022.
The 499 candidates may undertake their programme from May, 2022 and ending in November, 2022 and ending in November, 2022.
Arrangements will have to be put in place for the two sets of candidates to undertake their pupilage and be called to the Bar at a common date in the next two years.
Or.
- Grant admission to the entire 499 candidates with effects from November, 2021 and provision made for the organization of classes in a way as to be able to cater for the needs of the entire candidates of the Part One Course of Professional Law Programme.
Or
- Organise a special examination in November, 2021 to accord to the 499 candidates an opportunity to justify admission into the Law School for the 2021/2022 academic year. Such examination may be on essay questions which properly assess the ability of candidates to reason legally and resolve practical problems.
I further advise that in the notice inviting applications to register for the entrance examination for the 2022/2023 academic year, the basis for a determination of successful candidates be clearly spelt out in order to avoid a recur.
Find Godfred Dame’s letter to the GLC below:
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