President John Dramani Mahama has assented to the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, effectively ending the Ghana School of Law’s 65-year monopoly over professional legal education in the country.
The newly signed legislation marks a major shift in Ghana’s legal education system and is expected to widen access to professional legal training for thousands of law graduates across the country.
For decades, the Ghana School of Law remained the only institution authorized to provide professional legal education for students seeking qualification as lawyers in Ghana. The arrangement, however, attracted criticism over the years due to limited admission capacity and the growing number of qualified LLB graduates unable to gain entry into the professional law programme.
Under the new law, accredited institutions will now be permitted to offer professional legal education subject to regulatory approval and supervision by the appropriate legal and academic bodies.
The reform is expected to decentralize legal education, increase enrolment opportunities, and ease pressure on the Ghana School of Law, which has long struggled with overwhelming applications annually.
The Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, also forms part of broader efforts aimed at modernizing Ghana’s educational framework and expanding opportunities for professional development.
Implementation of the law is expected to focus on accreditation processes, institutional readiness, and maintaining professional standards within the legal education sector.