10% of national cathedral funds can expand School of Law – Chris Ackumey

A private legal practitioner, Chris Ackumey, has said 10 percent of the funds being invested into the building of the national cathedral can be used in expanding the Ghana School of Law.

Speaking on Starr Morning Show Friday, Mr. Ackumey said there should be a conscious effort by successive governments to expand legal education in the country.

“This problem of admission has been looming for the past three to four years if I am not mistaken. The Ghana Bar Association can advise that why not put 20percent of the money you want to put into Cathedral in expanding the law school, or even 10%. Because look at the millions of dollars being put in there and the cost of pulling down the Judges residence and the rest,” he said.

He continued that, “If you even take that 10% you could have put up a bigger infrastructure, train more lectures to accommodate the teeming numbers of Ghanaians who want to enter the law school. That is what I think the Ghana Bar Association should have recommended in their advocacy.”

The National Association of Law Students (NALS) on Wednesday hit the streets of Accra to protest the Ghana School of Law entrance exam failures.

The Law School in their defence to the huge failures of students seeking to enter the Professional Ghana Law School said students have to pass 50% of both sessions for the paper they wrote, that’s section A 50% and section B 50%.

However, the aggrieved students who felt they were unfairly disallowed admission hit the streets in a demonstration and subsequently petitioned the Chief Justice and the President for them to intervene.

President Akufo-Addo who has acknowledged receipt of the petition from the aggrieved students said there is clear evidence of lack of space for the huge numbers of students to be admitted at a go.

The NDC Legal Team Member assured the students that former President John Mahama would address the issue and expand the school of law if he gets another opportunity at the Presidency.

He also pointed out that the criteria for the entry exams by the Authorities of the Law School should be reconsidered.

“I think that those in charge of the examination have the right to determine the quantum of the number of people who enter the school. Just as the President has also stated if a thousand people pass and there is no space what do you do? This is why I said the problem is twofold, one by the Law School and one by the Authorities (General Legal Council (GLC),” he stated.