A group of LLB holders who were denied admission to the Ghana School of Law to pursue the professional degree have filed a lawsuit against the General Legal Council.
The pupils argue in their writ that the regulating authority has infringed their fundamental human rights.
They have thus petitioned the Accra High Court’s Human Rights Division to compel the Ghana School of Law to accept them despite having obtained the requisite pass mark (50 percent) in the entrance exam.
The 143 plaintiffs are among the 499 people who were denied entry.
Despite attaining the pass standard of 50%, the school issued a retroactive communiqué stating that only candidates who scored at least 50% in each of the two portions of the exam were considered for admission.
As a result, applicants who scored less than 50 percent in one subject but outperformed in another to compensate for the poor component crossed the pass mark of 50 percent yet were denied admission.
According to the school, its decision is definitive. However, the students who were affected allege that they were unaware of the new regulation before taking the tests.
On Wednesday, October 20, the National Association of Law Students marched through Accra’s major avenues in protest of the judgment.
At Accra’s Black Star Square, students dressed in red and black held banners with messages expressing their discontent.
They then delivered a petition to Parliament, which was accepted on behalf of the Speaker and the Presidency by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has stated that there is no place for the students who were denied entrance to the law school, calling the situation sad.
“At the moment, there is no place at the Law School for them, which is a concern.” There have been countless others before them who have tragically fallen into the same trap. “It’s possible that this cohort has opted to be more loud than their forefathers,” he stated on Peace FM on Thursday.
The President highlighted that the situation is not in the best interests of the country.
However, in their writ, the students request that the court rule that the Ghana School of Law’s actions fell short of expected reasonableness, invoking the traditional Wednesbury Principle.