A Deputy Chief of Staff, Abu Jinapor has urged agitating law students pushing for reforms in the nation’s legal education to be measured in their expectations from the president.
He explained that although the executive power that President Nana Akufo-Addo wielded was influential, the law of the country limited his ability to intervene in matters on legal education.
“We always have to remember that legal education is governed by law, by the General Legal Council, it is not governed by the Executive, it is not governed by the president and the President’s authority in such matters is quite limited,” Mr Jinapor stressed.
Speaking on the protest, Mr Jinapor, who received the petition on behalf of the president, noted that “while the president is a champion of the right to free speech and demonstrations, the law students should have conducted themselves in a way consistent with the rule of law, we are very happy to listen to them whenever they are ready as the president has done in the past”.
“He is a lawyer and very concerned and interested in the growth and development of legal education in the country,” he stated.
Thousands of law students on Monday took to the streets in protest against what they say was an archaic legal education system in the country, the demonstration was also partly incited by recent massive failures recorded last month in the Ghana Law School entrance exams. Only 128 students passed the test that 1,822 students took with the mass failures common with Ghana Law School entrance examinations.
The students also indicated that rules set by the General Legal Council, the administrators of law education in the country, forcing students who failed three courses to re-sit failed papers and even those they may have obtained good grades are draconian.
Monday’s demonstration with the hashtag #OpenUpLegalEducation, started earnestly at the Ghana Law School at Makola in Accra and ended at the Jubilee House where the protesters presented a petition to President Akufo-Addo. -myjoyonline.com
