Government abolishes law entrance exams in major education reform

Nii Ayitey Brown 05:28 - 12 May 2026

Ghana School of Law.

Ghana has scrapped the controversial law entrance exams after President John Mahama signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, ending the Ghana School of Law monopoly and expanding access to professional legal training.

Ghana has officially abolished the long-standing entrance examinations for professional legal education following the passage of the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025.
The new law ends the Ghana School of Law’s 66-year monopoly and allows accredited universities to offer professional legal training programmes.
Government says the reforms are aimed at expanding access to legal education while maintaining professional standards through a unified regulatory system.

Law graduates across Ghana are set to gain easier access to professional legal training after the government officially scrapped the controversial entrance examinations that for decades served as a major hurdle to becoming a lawyer.

The development follows President John Dramani Mahama’s assent to the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, a landmark legislation that dismantles the 66-year monopoly held by the Ghana School of Law over professional legal education.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, May 11, Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, confirmed that the reforms have already taken immediate effect.

Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor

“The entrance exams, as we know, no longer exist effective immediately,” Dafeamekpor stated.

According to him, all accredited law schools in the country will now operate under a unified admission framework supervised by the newly established Council for Legal Education and Training.

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He explained that even if the Ghana School of Law secures accreditation under the new system, it cannot independently continue the entrance examination process without approval from the new regulatory body.

Under the reforms, universities accredited by the Council for Legal Education and Training will be permitted to offer professional legal education programmes which is a shift from the previous structure where the Ghana School of Law exclusively handled professional legal training since 1959.

Although thousands of students graduated annually with Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees from public and private universities, only a limited number gained admission into the professional law programme.

The entrance exams frequently recorded relatively questionable rates, triggering years of criticism from students and academics.

This issue has sparked criticism nationwide where some argue that the system unfairly restricted access to legal education despite the growing number of qualified LLB graduates.

President Mahama, while signing the bill into law on Monday, said the reforms were designed to strike a balance between expanding access and preserving professional standards within Ghana’s legal sector.

According to him, the law seeks to maintain quality and expand access at the same time.

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