The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) says it would be a disturbing development for legal education in Ghana if reports that questions for the entrance exams of the Ghana Law School leaked.
“While the GBA is not in a position to verify or dispute the claims relating to the alleged leakage of the examination question, the Bar would deem it very unfortunate and disturbing if the allegations are proven,” GBA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Association has called on the Independent Examination Committee and the General Legal Council (GLC) to thoroughly investigate the matter and state the position on the purported leakage.
Video: Some students want exams cancelled and exams board dissolved.
Some of the over 1,800 law students taking the 2018 entrance examination, which started last Friday, alleged that part from the main exam questions, the marking scheme was also leaked.
They also alleged that they were handed answer sheets meant for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Secondary School Certification Examination (WASSCE) candidates.
Mounting pressure
Photo: Professor Kwaku Asare opposes the entrance exams
US-based Ghanaian lawyer, Professor Kwaku Asare, has been mounting pressure on the GLC, arguing that the entrance exams were unconstitutional.
A suit filed against the GLC was recently thrown out by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court gave the GLC the authorisation to organise the exams after it dismissed an application for interlocutory injunction filed by Professor Asare to stop the GLC from organising the examination.
Before a panel of five justices gave their ruling, they all stressed the need for the exams as a mechanism for quality control.
Justice Jones Dotse expressed concern about the quality of lawyers to be churned out if access to the school is not regulated.
Justice Alfred Benin also touched on the increasing number of applicants every year, saying if steps are not taken to address the issue of space, there will be chaos.
But just a day after the decision to dismiss the application for an interlocutory injunction on the examinations, claims have surfaced regarding how the examination paper and its marking scheme allegedly got leaked to some candidates.
Some aggrieved candidates could not fathom why the paper and the marking scheme got leaked under the supervision of the Independent Examination Board set up by the GLC which is responsible for marking the Law School exams.
File photo: Ceremony for some Lawyers called to the Bar
Below is the GBA statement on the scandal.
GHANA BAR ASSOCIATION’S STATEMENT ON ALLEGED LEAKAGE OF AN EXAMINATION QUESTION IN GHANA SCHOOL OF LAW’S 2018 ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has taken note of media reports regarding the purported leakage of an examination question in connection with the 2018 entrance examinations to the Ghana School of Law.
While the GBA is not in a position to verify or dispute the claims relating to the alleged leakage of the examination question, the Bar would deem it very unfortunate and disturbing if the allegations are proven.
The Ghana Bar Association calls upon the Independent Examination Committee and the General Legal Council to thoroughly investigate the matter and state the position on the purported leakage. In the interim, the GBA would urge the examination candidates to exercise restraint and pursue their ambitions. We would also urge the said candidates and Ghanaians generally to be guarded in their comments regarding statutory bodies and institutions and in this particular instance the General Legal Council. Statutory institutions play important roles in the growth of our country and should not be denigrated.
The Ghana Bar Association as a stakeholder will keenly follow the investigations, and hereby wishes to emphasise that it would at all times be of assistance and avail itself in the pursuit and development of legal education in Ghana.
SGD
JUSTIN A. AMENUVOR - NATIONAL PRESIDENT
SGD
BENSON NUTSUKPUI - NATIONAL SECRETARY
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