GLC withdraws accreditation for law faculties of 3 private universities

The General Legal Council (GLC) has withdrawn its recognition of the faculties of law of three private universities in the country.

In a notice signed by the Secretary of the GLC, Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Addo (JA) and published on Wednesday, May 10, the directive was to take effect immediately.

The affected universities are; Presbyterian University College (Kumasi Campus), Wisconsin International University College (Kumasi Campus) and Greenfield College (Sunyani).

The GLC indicated that the decision was pursuant to Section 4 of the Legal Profession Act, 1960, Act 32 [As inserted by the Legal Profession Act (Amendment) (No.2) decree, 1967 (NLCD 213) s.1 (a)].

The section states that “With effect from the first day of January 1971, a person shall not be qualified for enrolment under any provision of the Act unless he is a holder of a degree from a University approved by the General Legal Council.”

“The General Public is advised accordingly,” the notice published in the Daily Graphic said.

This comes after the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah indicated in November 2022 that the GLC would be compelled to withdraw its recognition of some institutions that offer Bachelor of Laws.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of some lawyers, the Chief Justice said this was to improve professional standards.

“In the view to uphold the sanctity of this profession and improve standards, the General Legal Council by the powers conferred on it by Parliament under Act 32 will be compelled to withdraw the recognition of some institutions offering the LL.B program that lack the necessary lecturers, infrastructure,” he said.

However, he added that the move was not punitive but only a way to check professional mediocrity.