Mass Failure As 383 Law Students Out Of 474 Fail To Make It To The Bar

A total of 206 law students are to repeat the entire course after failing the final Bar exams at the Ghana School of Law.

Another 177 students have been referred in one or two papers, Myjoyonline.com has learnt.

Out of 474 students who sat for the 2017-2018 final exams, only 91 students were deemed to have passed and will be called to the Bar.

The mass failure by the students comes at a time Parliament is seeking to legalize the entrance exams and interview processes instituted as part of the admission procedures into the Ghana School of Law.

The General Legal Council, the body that oversees legal education and profession in Ghana has mounted a vehement defence for the maintenance of entrance exams.

It argues the exams and interviews are to ensure higher standards in legal education.

But Chief crusader against the entrance exams Prof Kwaku Asare insists the entrance exams and interviews at the Ghana School of Law are illegal.

At the moment, there is an LI in Parliament currently going through a mandatory 21-day period before it will mature into law.

If members of the House are unable to raise two-thirds majority to kick against the LI it will automatically mature into law. 

Meanwhile, critics of the entrance exams say the mass failure at the Bar exams is just one example of why the status quo must be abolished.

"The madness of the unruly GLC continues unabated as only 91 out of 474 LLB graduates are deemed qualified to be called to the Bar.

"One more proof that the entrance examinations and interviews are not just illegal and unethical but they are also entirely non-diagnostic. That is, the argument that they are designed to select quality graduates must fail on this performance report.

"Further, this is proof that the Bar exam is a poor assessment tool or that the Ghana School of Law is incapable of training LLB graduates or both.

"Think about it —— only 91 out of the 1,200 law graduates in this cohort are being called to the Bar!!!!" Prof Asare said on his facebook wall.