President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025 into law, ending the Ghana School of Law’s 66-year exclusive control over professional legal training in the country.
The bill, signed on Monday, May 11, is aimed at widening access to legal education by allowing accredited universities and institutions to run professional law programmes, a role previously reserved only for the Ghana School of Law.
For years, the system had been criticized for limiting opportunities, as thousands of qualified LLB graduates were unable to progress due to restricted admission slots and highly competitive entrance examinations.
Speaking after signing the bill, President Mahama said the reform was designed to maintain high academic standards while expanding access to legal education. He noted that many aspiring lawyers had long awaited such changes.
He also assured stakeholders that the new framework would balance quality and opportunity in legal training.
Before the reform, the Ghana School of Law, established in 1958, was the only institution authorized to offer the professional law course required for call to the Bar. Over time, this monopoly became a subject of national debate, with calls for reform from students, legal professionals, and civil society groups.
Critics argued that the system created unnecessary bottlenecks, leaving many qualified graduates without access to further training. The new law is therefore seen as a major step toward addressing long-standing challenges in the sector.
With the reform now in effect, approved universities that meet regulatory standards will be allowed to offer professional legal education, significantly increasing training capacity in the country.
The move has been widely welcomed as a breakthrough for aspiring lawyers who have long faced limited opportunities due to the restrictive structure of Ghana’s legal education system.
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