President John Dramani Mahama has signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025 into law, ushering in what many describe as a new era for legal education in Ghana.
The new legislation officially ends the Ghana School of Law’s 66-year monopoly over professional legal training and is expected to significantly expand access to legal education across the country.
For decades, the Ghana School of Law remained the only institution authorised to provide the Professional Law Course required for students to qualify as lawyers and be called to the Bar in Ghana. Over the years, the system faced growing criticism due to limited admission spaces and the highly competitive entrance examination process, which left thousands of qualified LLB graduates unable to continue their legal training.
The issue sparked national debate, with students, legal practitioners and civil society groups repeatedly calling for reforms to make legal education more accessible and inclusive.
Speaking after assenting to the bill on Monday, May 11, President Mahama said the law seeks to both maintain high standards in legal education and create more opportunities for aspiring lawyers.
“The law is to regulate legal education and ensure the highest standards in terms of legal education, but also to open up the space for more opportunity for legal education in Ghana. This particular act has been one that many aspiring lawyers have been looking up to,” he stated.
Under the newly signed law, accredited universities and institutions that meet the required standards and receive approval from the appropriate regulatory bodies will now be allowed to offer professional legal education programmes.
The reform is widely seen as a major breakthrough that could help address the long-standing bottlenecks associated with legal training in Ghana while increasing opportunities for students pursuing careers in law.
