Spokesperson for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Nana Adjei Baffour Awuah, has warned that the quality of legal education could be undermined if law schools prioritise profit over the training of competent lawyers.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s assent to the Legal Education Bill, which abolishes the monopoly previously held by the Ghana School of Law in the training of lawyers.
In an interview with Citi News on Tuesday, May 12, the Manhyia South MP stressed the need to uphold high standards in legal education to prevent the production of negligent lawyers.
“We need to make sure that the quality is high; otherwise, there is the risk of quality falling, and the outcome potentially may be having lawyers who are not up to scratch to provide the quality service that may be needed.
“The consequence potentially may be people losing their properties, lives, and liberties. Let us look at what has been put forward through the Act and see whether, in its implementation, it is going to meet the set objectives.
“If they don’t, we are free to amend at some point. If the training is going to be motivated by profit on behalf of the universities, if we are not careful, standards may be reduced to meet that objective,” he said.
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