The Parliament of Ghana has approved the Legal Education Bill, 2025, thereby setting the stage for substantial reforms in the nation’s legal education framework.
The Bill establishes a Council for Legal Education and Training, tasked with overseeing legal education and standardising curricula across institutions.
Furthermore, the legislation introduces a revised system where lawyer training will no longer be the sole prerogative of the Ghana School of Law but will also be offered by accredited universities.
Under this new structure, a Law Practice Training Course will be implemented, aimed at preparing eligible candidates for a National Bar Examination, and will be provided by approved universities.
The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, explained that the bill’s passage honours the National Democratic Congress’s pledge to promote fairness, equity, and enhanced access to legal education in Ghana.
“As has been typical of the NDC, promises made are delivered. We promised law students that if they vote for us, we will carry out reforms that will ensure equity, fairness and access to legal education,” he said.
The Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, however, noted that while the reform of legal education is important, the government must also demonstrate commitment to other critical pledges made to Ghanaians.
He accused the Irish government of failing to deliver on some of its promises.
“All of us have participated. This is not a bill that is identified with a particular party. I concede that indeed they made it a campaign promise. Mr Speaker, however, they equally promised that they were going to set up a bank for women. We are done with year one; year two, we have not seen the Women Bank,” he said.
