General Legal Council constitutes committee to probe cause of exam failures

The General Legal Council (GLC) has constituted a committee to investigate the causes of the decline in the pass rate of the Bar Examinations held in the country.

To be chaired by Justice Sophia Adinyira, Justice of the Supreme Court, the committee is also expected to make appropriate short, medium and long term recommendations to the Council to help address the causes of the failures.

This was contained in a statement signed and issued by Cynthia Pamela A. Addo, Secretary of the GLC, in Accra yesterday.

The GLC, it said, would welcome practical suggestions from the public aimed at perfecting the current system and urged anyone with relevant information to assist the committee to submit their views to the office of the Judicial Secretary.

The statement noted that the GLC introduced the competitive entrance and exit examinations akin to best practices in other jurisdictions.

This, it said, would ensure that only stellar and internationally competitive lawyers were produced from the various tertiary institutions irrespective of a person’s status in society.

“In the interest of the Ghanaian public, we remain committed to assuring access to quality professional legal services for all, through continuous improvement of legal education,” the statement added.

It said the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-Call Law Course) Regulations 2018, L.I 2355 provides that an Independent Examination Committee as a precautionary step to ensure a level-playing field in the organisation and management of entry-point and final examinations of the Ghana School of Law towards enrolment into the Ghana Bar.

The Regulations, the statement said, further outline procedure for students who wish to satisfy themselves about their results including lodging complaint with the registrar for a review of results, by way of remarking scripts, re-tallying and re-collation of marks.

The statement advised students to apprise themselves of the provisions of the Regulations and apply them accordingly adding that the GLC was committed to ensuring the integrity of the Bar Examination process and outcomes.

It said the GLC would work assiduously to ensure that all qualified eligible tertiary graduates are afforded the opportunity to participate in and write the requisite examinations to qualify them for enrolment as lawyers in Ghana.