A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has raised serious issues about the Legal Education Bill to be presented before Parliament, describing it as troubling and lacking the depth needed to address the systemic issues facing legal training in the country.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on June 2, 2025, Ansa-Asare argued that the bill fails to address critical aspects of the legal professional training.

He argued that it focused on the academic side of legal education leaving out aspects that cover the professional legal practices that make the training holistic.

“In the first place, the ‘title’ Legal Education Bill is a little troubling. Legal education comprises the academic route as well as the professional practice route,” he stated.

He stated that unless the bill is expanded to include provisions on legal practice, it will fail to resolve the long-standing challenges in Ghana’s legal education system.

“If the government intends to decentralise or regionalise legal training by converting existing law faculties into institutions capable of producing lawyers, then the bill should reflect both legal education and legal practice,” he explained.

Ansa-Asare added that the bill, in its current form, addresses only a part of the problem.

He called for a more holistic approach that considers the entire process of training a lawyer, from foundational academic work to practical courtroom skills.

Ansah-Asare described Ghana’s legal education model as outdated, stating that it has not evolved since it was inherited from the British.


In contrast, he pointed to the United States’ integrated Juris Doctor (JD) program, which he indicated blends academic theory with practical legal skills such as negotiation, mediation, and legal drafting.

“The first three years of legal education in Ghana are largely theoretical. Practical training only begins during the two years at the Ghana School of Law, which is too late. By the time you finish, you don’t even know how to move a court,” he said.

Ansa-Asare called for a comprehensive overhaul of the legal education system, stressing that the bill must go beyond minor reforms to bring meaningful and lasting change.

“What we need is a systemic overhaul, not just a tweak. This bill, as it stands, is half a solution,” he said.

MRA/VPO

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