President John Dramani Mahama has signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, into law, effectively ending the 66-year monopoly held by the Ghana School of Law over professional legal education in Ghana.
The landmark reform paves the way for accredited universities to offer professional legal training programmes, a move widely welcomed by legal educators, students, and reform advocates who have long criticised the existing system as restrictive and inaccessible.
Since its establishment in 1958, the Ghana School of Law had remained the sole institution authorised to conduct the professional law course required for admission to the Ghana Bar. Over the years, concerns grew over limited admission capacity, with many qualified law graduates unable to gain entry into the school annually.
Critics argued that the arrangement created an unnecessary bottleneck in the legal education system and denied many aspiring lawyers the opportunity to pursue professional training despite meeting academic requirements.
Under the new legislation, universities that satisfy accreditation standards set by the relevant regulatory authorities will now be permitted to run professional legal education programmes.
The reform is expected to significantly expand access to legal education, increase training capacity, and reduce pressure on the Ghana School of Law.
The passage and signing of the bill mark one of the most significant reforms to Ghana’s legal education sector in decades, following years of public debate, student protests, and calls for broader access to professional legal training.
