Red flags on ‘undisclosed’ professional law course entrance exam pass mark
Red flags on ‘undisclosed’ professional law course entrance exam pass mark
Public opinion and various discussions have hailed the decision of the Independent Examinations Committee (IEC) of the General Legal Council (GLC) not to disclose the pass mark for this year’s Entrance Examination at the Ghana School of Law (GSL), as well as for the candidates to sign a commitment not to contest the results.
Critics, including lawyers, law students and some civil society organizations, have scorned the decision, describing it as a setback for the development of legal education.
However, supporters of the decision said the GLC was convenient due to the limited space in the GSL compared to the overwhelming number of LLB graduates who wish to enter the Ghana School of Law to take the professional course. .
For critics such as the National Association of Law Students (NALS), the decision was arbitrary and an attempt by the GLC “to manipulate the number of applicants considered for admission”.
Furthermore, a regular GLC lawyer and critic, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, has called on LLB holders to boycott the entrance exam while Imani Africa Vice President Kofi Bentil said “it’s is oppressive and unacceptable” for the GLC. make such a decision.
Support
However, one of the decision’s supporters, Kofi Opare Hagan, a UK-based Ghanaian lawyer, in a Facebook post, said the GLC’s decision was a step in the right direction as it was driven by practical challenges. faced by the GSL.
“The GSL has a number it can take. Well, let them all take the exams, and then after the exams we determine the threshold based on overall performance. It’s not rocket science. It is easy to understand it. And that’s the only way for them to get around it,” he said.
Entrance exam
On July 18 this year, the GLC opened the application for LLB graduates to apply for the entrance examination for admission to reading the Professional Law Course at GLS.
The entrance examination, which will take place on September 23 this year, will include two compulsory questions chosen from one of the six fundamental law courses Contract Law, Civil Liability Law, Criminal Law, Real Estate Law, Constitutional Law and Legal System and Methods.
However, unlike last year when the GLC announced that the passing mark was 50% of the total mark, this year the passing mark was missing from the Council’s announcement.
Additionally, as part of the requirements, candidates for the entrance exam are required to sign an undertaking that they would accept the results published by the IEC as final.
“No requests to re-score scripts, re-score or review or grades will be accepted. Candidates also cannot request to see their answer scripts marked or the grading scheme used to score the questions,” the company said.
Criticisms
NALS, in a statement on Monday (August 1, 2022), said the GLC’s refusal to release the passing grade and prospective students to sign the pledge was part of the opaque system the Board had used to manage education. legal in the country.
According to NALS, the decision was unlawful and an affront to and breach of a High Court ruling in 2020 which found the undertaking to be arbitrary, unlawful, null, void and of no effect.
“As things stand, holders of a Bachelor of Laws are asked to take an exam, without knowing what the minimum threshold is to pass the exam. Additionally, we will not be permitted to request a review of our scripts,” the statement read.
NALS called on Parliament, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the Right to Information Commission (RTI) and the general public to help speak out against the GLC to push it to do what was “right , fair and transparent in accordance with Articles 25(2) of the 1992 Constitution”.
