Kwaku Azar questions GTEC warning to lawyers without degrees

Legal scholar and social commentator Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has raised concerns over a warning attributed to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), questioning its clarity, mandate and timing.

In a Facebook post on December 14, 2025, Kwaku Azar said he had come across a statement allegedly issued by GTEC indicating that from 2026, the commission would take legal action because it had ‘gathered signals that there are people who are lawyers but don’t have the degree.’

According to him, the warning raises serious questions, particularly in view of Ghana’s long-standing legal framework on who qualifies as a lawyer.

Kwaku Asare jabs General Legal Council

He noted that under the law, anyone recognised as a lawyer must necessarily hold a law degree.

“If they are lawyers, then by law they must already have law degrees,” Kwaku Azar said, stressing that since January 1, 1971, the law has been clear that a person shall not be qualified for enrolment unless he is the holder of a degree from a university approved by the General Legal Council.

He argued that the GTEC statement could only be interpreted in two ways: either individuals without law degrees have been allowed to enroll as lawyers contrary to law, or the warning is an unclear way of suggesting that non-lawyers are holding themselves out as lawyers.

Kwaku Azar said both scenarios present serious regulatory concerns.

He noted that if non-degree holders have indeed been enrolled as lawyers, it could only have occurred with the knowledge of the General Legal Council (GLC) or without its awareness, both of which he described as problematic.

He also questioned the timing of the warning, asking why a regulator would make such a serious implication and defer enforcement to a future date.

He said regulators are expected to act once issues are identified, rather than announce future action based on unspecified ‘signals.’

“And if GTEC has ‘signals,’ why announce future enforcement like a public holiday? Regulators don’t gather signals and go on recess. They act,” he indicated.

Kwaku Azar further drew a distinction between academic accreditation and professional regulation, insisting that GTEC’s mandate is limited to academic matters.

He said cases of unauthorised practice of law fall under the authority of the GLC, not GTEC.

What happened to no mass production of lawyers? - Kweku Azar asks

According to him, even where false academic claims are involved, the issue only falls within GTEC’s remit until a person presents himself as a lawyer. Once that happens, he said, the matter ceases to be academic and becomes a professional regulatory issue.

Kwaku Azar concluded that the warning appears to conflate different issues, including academic accreditation, professional enrolment, title usage and legal practice, into a single unclear statement.

He called on GTEC to clarify the specific problem it is addressing, act strictly within its lawful mandate, and coordinate with the General Legal Council where matters of professional regulation are implicated.

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