Some law graduates who failed the Ghana School of Law entrance examination have sued the General Legal Council (GLC) seeking a review of their results or remarking of the examination papers.
Of the 1,820 LLB graduates who sat the exam on July 26 this year, only 128 passed to get admission to pursue the professional law course.
Critics have argued the GLC deliberately fail candidates to limit the number of admissions into the Ghana School of Law due to limited vacancies.
Though some of the failed candidates doubt the fairness in the results, they are unable to seek remarking of the examination scripts due to an undertaking they sign to waive that right.
As a condition precedent, all candidates for who sit for the exam are made to sign a form committing to accept without question, the final results of the examination as published by the GLC.
Per the undertaking, the candidates write the Ghana School of Law entrance exam, waive their rights to demand for re-marking of their examination scripts.
‘The undertaking unlawful’
But five of the 1,692 students who failed the last entrance exam written in July 2019 have questioned the undertaking they were made to sign, claiming it is against their fundamental human rights as students.
The five who represent all the failed candidates in the various law faculties in Ghana, have issued a writ at the High Court asking the court to declare as unlawful, the said undertaking imposed on them by the GLC, which some critics say, does not exhibit transparency.
Re-marking request refused
In their affidavit, they claim one of the recently failed students requested for a re-marking of his script but the GLC “failed or refused to accede to the request”.
“The applicants state that the GLC’s failure and or refusal to give candidates the opportunity to challenge published results is an egregious defiance of the duty to act fairly and reasonably, which duty is mandatorily imposed on administrative bodies and officials by the Constitution, 1972” they argued.
For them, where a body or officer has an administrative function to perform, the activity must be conducted with, and reflect the qualities of fairness, reasonableness and legal compliance.
“In effect, all administrative bodies have a constitutional obligation to act fairly and reasonably,” the applicants asserted in their affidavit in support of their motion filed on October 23, 2019.
They contend that unless the court intervenes, the GLC “shall continue to violate our fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed right to administrative justice with impunity”.
Reliefs being sought
Accordingly, they want the court to declare the undertaking imposed on them by the GLC to accept without question, the decision of the Council in respect of the published results of the examination organized on 26 July 2019 as final, is arbitrary, unlawful, null and void and of no effect.
Also, a declaration that the failure, refusal or neglect of the Council to publish a procedure for remarking their examination papers is arbitrary, unlawful, null void, and of no effect.
“A declaration that the failure, refusal or neglect of the GLC to provide sufficient clarity that gives dissatisfied candidates the opportunity to seek a review of their examination results is arbitrary, unlawful, null void, and of no effect,” the added.
They thus want an order directed at the GLC to give them the opportunity to have their examination results reviewed or remarked.
By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana
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