Do something about the conditions of service of law teachers – Ansa Asare
“Members of the legal class are taught by law lecturers. They retire on their full salary. They are treated more or less as Article 71 officers. Judges were taught by law lecturers, they retire on their salaries. Law teachers are excluded. We have raised this, time and time again,” he said.
Mr. Kwaku Ansa-Asare, a former Ghana School of Law director, has urged government, and those across Africa, to make better, the salaries and other conditions of service of law lecturers.
He argues that some members of public offices like Judges, for instance, are treated as Article 71 holders, whereas law teachers who taught these class of persons are excluded.
“Members of the legal class are taught by law lecturers. They retire on their full salary. They are treated more or less as Article 71 officers. Judges were taught by law lecturers, they retire on their salaries. Law teachers are excluded. We have raised this, time and time again,” he said.
He was speaking at the international conference on the ‘Future of Legal Education in Ghana/Africa, on its last day of stakeholder discussions on resources for legal education.
His appeal is an add-on to the presentation by Dr. Atupare, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast.
Dr. Atupare in his presentation, raised several questions, one of which included salaries of law lecturers.
“Why should a person who is one year at the Bar, be paid 9000 plus when engaged at the AG department, and then a lecturer with a Ph.D. and 20 years at the Bar, be paid less than 9000 as a lecturer. The rebuttable that such is the choice of the lecturer is reactionary. Who should teach and produce personnel for the AG?” he said.
According to online portal Salary Explore, the average monthly salary of a law teacher in Ghana in 2021 is around GHC 6010.00 At the minimum, they are said to be paid GHC 3240,00 and GHC 9070.00 as highest salary. This amount is said to include housing, transport, and other benefits.
Mr. Ansa Asare says he hopes that the government and other African governments will recognize the significant contributions of law teachers.
“Oftentimes, our own members, members of the Bar Association, the Judges, they stand guard over better conditions of service. Why is it that law lecturers are not agitating for improvement over conditions of service? Civil servants do it, public servants, but the law teacher is always saying that I have a moral obligation towards the students and therefore I’m unable to lay down my tools and therefore we die poorer and suffer in disdain and in abject poverty. And it’s something that I think for once this conference should consider,” he stated.
