Private Legal Practitioner and Former Member of Parliament for North Dayi, George Loh wants the General Legal Council (GLC) to handle carefully, processes leading to the reduction of examination remarking fee for students of the Ghana School of Law.
His advice follows Parliament’s recommendations to the Council to reduce the current fee from GHc3,000 to GHc500 for the students.
[contextly_sidebar id=”mxBtzgWZiE5b8xUPwiU3nt6m7ScqAuiG”]Parliament had also asked the Council to re-open the period for remarking for the failed students of the Ghana School of Law who couldn’t register to do so.
Explaining the directive, George Loh indicated that the legal structures between both Parliament and the GLC afford such a situation hence, he expects the latter not to take the recommendations lightly.
“Parliament has oversight responsibility on the GLC and the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament so you expect that they treat parliament’s recommendations seriously and that it acts accordingly. They may or may not do what Parliament says but the GLC derives its powers from an Act of Parliament. So I don’t expect the GLC to treat the recommendations of parliament lightly.”
“For instance, they are talking about reduction from GHC 3000 to GHC 500 but they may come out with an argument saying that possibly the GHC500 cannot suffice for their administrative cost so there will be a balance there but I don’t expect the recommendations of Parliament to be treated with kid’s gloves”, he stated on Eyewitness News.
Background of reduction call
The law students petitioned Parliament over what many have described as the school’s worst exam performance yet.
Only 64 out of the 525 students who sat the exam passed, while 284 of them failed and 177 referred.
After consideration of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee Report, MPs have also asked the General Legal Council to hold supplementary exams for all referred candidates.
Parliament wants the supplementary exams to be conducted in a timely manner to ensure that successful candidates are enrolled this year.
While the Council is also to consider adopting off-site marking retreats to ensure a speedy re-marking of scripts, it is also to consider making marking schemes and examiners’ reports available to both students and lecturers of the Ghana School of Law.
The Speaker of Parliament directed that the report should be transmitted to the Council and other stakeholders at the School of law “for appropriate action.”
Meanwhile, some Members of the House want more concrete action from the House.
While the students are happy with the Parliament’s action so far, with Emmanuel Kobby Amoah, the President of the Student Representative Council saying “most of our concerns have been addressed.”
He expressed hope that stakeholders would come together “to bring a lasting solution so that the review of Act 32 will reflect what we are looking for as a student body and what will help free education in Ghana.”
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By: Nii Larte Lartey | citinewsroom.com | Ghana | nlartelartey@gmail.com