South Danyi Member of Parliament, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor has raised concerns against the rate of failure in the law entrance examinations.
According to him, 499 out of the 1289 law students who failed the entrance should have been admitted.
His comments come after two thousand LLB candidates who sat for the 2021/2021 academic year Ghana School of Law 2021 Entrance Exams failed in the exams.
Students from the various law faculties across the country who sat for the exam, only 790 of them passed representing approximately 28% while the failure represents 72%.
Mr Dafeamekpor in a statement said “a further release by the GLC of all exams results after public pressure would suggest that 1289 examinees met the minimum pass requirement of 50% in keeping with the known pass standard for all previous entrance exams conducted by the GLC.
“It is most bizarre therefore that 499 of the 1289 have not been considered eligible for admission into the GSL when indeed they scored a minimum of 50% or better.
“In attempt to explain this inconsistency of not admitting the 499 students, the GLC, through its director further released a notice on its Notice Board, setting out what clearly is an afterthought, and setting out an est post facto rationalization of the inconsistency. In the said notice, the director purports to set a previously unknown new standard of a pass of 50% in each of the two sections A and B in the exam.”
Below is his full statement…
STATEMENT ON THE 2021 GHANA SCHOOL OF LAW ENTRANCE EXAMS & THE CAPRICIOUSNESS OF THE GLC.
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1. The recent release of results of the 2021 law school entrance exams by the General Legal Council (GLC) and its affiliate, the Independent Examination Council (IEC) and the controversy same has generated is concerning and deserves national attention.
2. The initial results released by the GLC on the 28th of September suggested that 790 out of the total examinees of 2824 met the entry requirements.
3. However, a further release by the GLC of all exams results after public pressure would suggest that 1289 examinees met the minimum pass requirement of 50% in keeping with the known pass standard for all previous entrance exams conducted by the GLC.
4. It is most bizarre therefore that 499 of the 1289 have not been considered eligible for admission into the GSL when indeed they scored a minimum of 50% or better.
5. In attempt to explain this inconsistency of not admitting the 499 students, the GLC, through its director further released a notice on its Notice Board, setting out what clearly is an afterthought, and setting out an est post facto rationalization of the inconsistency. In the said notice, the director purports to set a previously unknown new standard of a pass of 50% in each of the two sections A and B in the exam.
6. This is strange giving that all examination rules and pass criteria ought to be made known to examinees prior to but not after the exam is written. It is so strange to observe, for instance, that the afterthought notice allows a student with 50% of total exam score to to be admitted whilst her colleague with 69 or better is rejected.
7. The GLC has not explained the propriety of the new criteria, the subsequent released results contain errors, missing Index Numbers and some students who indeed have passed in accordance with the new criteria and yet have not received admissions.
8. The conduct of the GLC offends the spirit of openness, accountability and transparency accustomed to such institutions.
9. Further, it is discriminatory and leaves no space for procedural fairness.
10. It is in this regard that this Statement demands:
i. first, that all 499 students who have passed with the minimum of the pre-determined criteria of 50% be immediately admitted without further delay.
ii. Secondly, a public enquiry should be conducted into this year’s law school entrance exams to ascertain the level of arbitrariness and lack of transparency.
iii. Thirdly, the future of Professional Law training ought to be pragmatic in allowing pre-qualified Law Faculties to run the professional law programm whose students would be admitted into the Ghana Bar upon sitting and passing a one-off Ghana National Bar exams.
11. Some of the students who attained as high as 61 marks are denied admission while some Other students had 50% and are given admission.
12. It’s pertinent to note that, the Students were not given any prior information of any crtieria as brought out by the Director of the Law School prior to the Examinations.
13. The future of the Ghanaian youth and in particular, those desiring to enroll as lawyers ought not to be jeopardized by relying on the tools of prejudice, capraciousness and discrimination.
Cogito ergo sum
Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq.
MP-South Dayi
Member: Const, Legal & Parliamentary Affairs & Public Accounts Committees.
Source:3news.com