Ghana students protest against ‘elitism’ in law

Students have taken to the streets of Ghana’s capital, Accra, to protest against mass failures and “elitism” in the law profession.

Only 128 out of 1820 students passed the 2019 Law School Entrance Exams, representing a failure rate of more than 90%.

The high failure rate reflected an attempt to sideline ordinary people from accessing legal education in favour of the country’s elite, the protesters said.

“They have to change this system. The current practice, where family relations of the rich in society enter the Ghana Law School, must change,” Courage Nobi, an aspiring lawyer, told the BBC.

Ghana’s Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, has previously said she is against the mass production of lawyers as it reduces standards in the legal profession.

Protesters demanded that that President Nana Akufo-Addo intervene to overhaul what they branded the “sham system”.