Accra, Ghana – March 26, 2026 – Parliament has passed the Legal Education Bill, 2025, a landmark legislation aimed at expanding access to professional legal education in Ghana. The Bill establishes the Council for Legal Education and Training to regulate law programs, set curriculum standards, and administer a National Bar Examination.
The new law ends the long-standing monopoly of the Ghana School of Law over professional legal training and entrance examinations, which previously limited opportunities for aspiring lawyers. Once the Bill is assented to by the President, other universities, including private institutions, will be eligible for accreditation to offer professional law programs.
The Bill introduces a Law Practice Training Course focused on clinical legal education and practical lawyering skills, preparing graduates to sit for the National Bar Exam. All holders of a Bachelor of Laws or approved first degrees in law must complete the course before qualifying for the exam.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, emphasized that the reforms promote equality of opportunity, addressing bottlenecks associated with Ghana School of Law’s highly competitive entrance process.
“The National Bar Exam will be a standardized assessment administered by the Council for Legal Education, ensuring fairness for all candidates, regardless of the university they attended,” Ayine stated.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga hailed the Bill as a fulfillment of a key campaign promise, describing it as “the dawn of a new era” for legal education in Ghana. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin commended the passage but criticized the government for not delivering on other campaign promises.
