Legal Education: It’s not good for 1958 problems to persist today- Prof. Atuguba
The four-day conference organized by the University of Ghana Faculty of Law on the theme; The Future of Legal Education also saw the Launch of the University of Ghana School of Law Endowment Fund.
“It is not good for the problems of Legal Education in 1958 to still be with us in 2021 exactly 63 years later but your Excellency, this too shall pass. It has therefore become incumbent on us as stakeholders to take action and begin the process of reforming legal education in Ghana.”
These are the views expressed by the Dean of the University of Ghana Faculty of Law, Prof.Raymond Atugubu at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on THE FUTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN GHANA.
According to him, the challenges of Legal Education are not peculiar to recent times. Quoting from the first admission notice of the Ghana School of Law in 1958 edition of the Graphic Newspaper, Prof.Atuguba read;
“Ghana Law school is open next month. The first course barred to outsiders. The Ghana Law School is opening in Accra on December 29th with 50 Ghanaian students. At a 60 minute Press conference held in Accra yesterday, Prof. J.H. A. Lang, director of Legal Education said this first course would be for would-be legal practitioners and restricted to Ghanaians because of the lack of accommodation. Classes according to Prof Lang will be held in the Supreme Court on weekdays between 5 pm to 7 pm…’”
Furthermore, he indicated that the only difference between the challenges of the 1950s and today is that the challenges embedded in the institutions are now so pronounced that we can no longer sweep them under the carpet.
Prof Atuguba, therefore, mentioned that in furtherance of the process of Legal education reforms, the Deans of Law faculties met at the end of October as the Conference of Law Deans to deliberate on these issues and subsequently present recommendations to the President of the Republic.
The four-day conference organized by the University of Ghana Faculty of Law on the theme; The Future of Legal Education also saw the Launch of the University of Ghana School of Law Endowment Fund.
