GIMPA-TEIN Joins School Of Law Mass Failure Demo

Ghana Institute of Management Public Administration Tertiary Education Institution Network (GIMPA-TEIN) has joined a demonstration dubbed ‘RedMonday demonstration’ to protest against the purported mass failure of students who sat for the entrance exam at Ghana School of Law on July 26, 2019.

The demonstration on Monday October 7, 2019, is expected to hold at both the Supreme Court and the Jubilee House for the total reformation of Ghana’s legal education.

In a release, the students are demanding the “Scrapping of the General Legal Council and the entrance exams, allow faculties to run the professional law program, and establish a new regulator whose role would be to administrator bar exams.”

According to them, a systemic failure of professional legal education to meet the growing population of law students is the issue to deal with.

“We hold that the cause of this alarming situation is as a result of failure of the regime of the General Legal Council (GLC) in supervising professional legal education in Ghana.”

Read Below Full Statement:

PRESS RELEASE

GIMPA NDC-TEIN RALLIES SUPPORT FOR #REDMONDAY DEMONSTRATION

In the spirit of comradeship and in solidarity with the Ghana National Association of Law Students, the GIMPA branch of NDC-TEIN is calling on its members and all well-meaning Ghanaians to rise up and join in the #RedMonday demonstration on Monday October 7, 2019, at both the Supreme Court and the Jubilee House to protest for the total reformation of Ghana’s legal education following the purported mass failure of students who sat for the entrance exam to the Ghana School of Law on July 26, 2019.

As Ghanaian youth, access to education, including professional legal training, is our constitutional right. Also, it is our belief that, the 128 out of the 1820 students representing 7% who passed the exam this year has brought an end to the social canker. Henceforth, we hold that the cause of this alarming situation is as a result of failure of the regime of the General Legal Council (GLC) in supervising professional legal education in Ghana.

In 2018, 465 out of 1,800 students representing 25% passed the entrance exam; and this year, 128 out of 1820 students representing 7% passed. Therefore, we maintain that the exam is not the right way to assess students to take up the professional law program. And the worsening situation is not the cause of students’ lack of knowledge but the systemic failure of the professional legal education to meet the growing population of law students.

By so doing, we have reached the point where we have to put mechanisms in place to fix the problem from the fundamental level. We uphold the view of the Ghana National Association of Law Student and other stakeholders that this problem is not a legal question but a political question in which the powers of the executive arm of government as well as the legislature must be invoked to take steps to repeal the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) to replace it with a new Act that would:

*• Scrap the General Legal Council and the entrance exams*

*• Allow faculties to run the professional law program, and*

*• Establish a new regulator whose role would be to administrator bar exams*

In the immediate term, we are calling on the GLC and its Independent Examination Council (IEC) to publish the marking scheme and give students opportunities to have their scripts remarked.

For that matter, the GIMPA branch of NDC-TEIN, in solidarity with the Ghana National Association of Law Students and other stakeholders, is once again calling on all members of NDC-TEIN branches in Ghana and all well-meaning Ghanaians to join in the demonstration on Monday October 7, 2019, at both the Supreme Court and the Jubilee House to protest for the total reformation of Ghana’s legal education.

Thank you.

Arise Ghana Youth!

...... Signed by......

Wisdom Kwao

President GIMPA-TEIN

.....Issued by....

Michael Sumaila

Communication Officer