RETHINKING LEGAL EDUCATION IN GHANA: IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE LAW
INTRODUCTION Legal education in Ghana stands at the crossroads of significant reform. For decades, aspiring lawyers have navigated a two-stage process: first, an academic LLB degree obtained at a university, followed by a competitive entrance examination into the Ghana School of Law (Makola) for professional training. This system has produced countless lawyers, yet it has also faced persistent criticism for its bottlenecks, exclusivity, and opacity. The ongoing reforms — which propose removing the General Legal Council’s (GLC) direct role in training and introducing a centralized bar examination — are therefore a welcome development. They promise broader access, greater transparency, and alignment with professional qualification models such as ACIB, ACCA, or CIMA. In an earlier article, “ The Law, Common Sense and Wisdom,” published in the Business & Financial Times on 18th November 2023, I reflected on Justice Senyo Dzamefe (JSC)’s observation that “ there is a difference be...