Mahama Signs Legal Education Reform Bill to End Ghana School of Law Monopoly
- President John Dramani Mahama has signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025 into law, ending the Ghana School of Law’s decades-long monopoly
- The new legislation will allow accredited universities to offer professional law courses, expanding access for thousands of LLB graduates
- The reform is being hailed as a major breakthrough aimed at increasing opportunities while maintaining high standards in legal education
President John Dramani Mahama has assented to the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, introducing sweeping changes to Ghana’s legal education system.
The new law effectively ends the 66-year dominance of the Ghana School of Law as the sole provider of professional legal training
Source: Facebook
The legislation marks a significant shift, paving the way for broader participation in legal education and opening new opportunities for aspiring lawyers across the country.
The reform allows accredited universities and institutions to offer professional law courses, a responsibility that had long been restricted to the Ghana School of Law.
This move is expected to ease longstanding challenges faced by thousands of law graduates seeking to advance their legal careers.
For years, many qualified LLB holders were unable to proceed due to limited admission slots and a highly competitive entrance examination process at the Ghana School of Law.
Mahama explains purpose of new law
Speaking after signing the bill into law on Monday, May 11, 2026, President Mahama explained that the reform seeks both to maintain high standards and widen access.
He stated that 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.”
For more than six decades, the Ghana School of Law had exclusive authority to run the Professional Law Course required for qualification and call to the Bar.
This arrangement had been widely criticised by students, civil society groups and legal professionals, who argued that it restricted access to the profession.
The new law is being welcomed as a decisive response to those concerns, signalling a commitment to reform and inclusivity within the legal education sector.
Under the new framework, only institutions that meet prescribed standards and secure approval from the appropriate regulatory bodies will be permitted to offer professional legal training.
The reform is widely regarded as a milestone in Ghana’s education sector, with expectations that it will improve access while preserving the quality of legal training nationwide.
Watch the Facebook video below:
Source: YEN.com.gh
