Construction of law school to start this year – AG

Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, has revealed that the 2026 budget has earmarked funds to commence construction of the highly anticipated Council of Legal Education (CLE)-accredited law school in Guyana. “In this budget, we have the first capital injection, and during the year 2026, we will begin the construction of a law school in Guyana,” the Minister stated during his debate presentation on Budget 2026 in the National Assembly on Friday.
During his September 7, 2025, inauguration address after being re-elected at last year’s General and Regional Elections, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced that Guyana received approval from the West Indies’ CLE to pursue this much-needed project. According to Anil Nandlall, during his debate presentation, the milestone follows unsuccessful efforts, dating back to 1996 under the Cheddi Jagan-led People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, to secure approval for an accredited regional law school in Guyana. He added that the initiative was revived in 2022 at the direction of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
“I am proud to announce that under President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, we secured the permission of the Council in September 2025 for the construction of a regional law school in Guyana,” the AG stated. Guyana had previously conducted a feasibility study for the establishment of a local law school, and the findings were handed over to the CLE last September. The CLE had outlined a series of requirements that Guyana needed to fulfil, including the conduct of a comprehensive feasibility study in which the country had to illustrate the number of students the school will attract and accommodate, as well as the Government’s capacity to fund the construction of the facility and its initial operation cost. A high-level subcommittee, which included AG Nandlall and other prominent officials across the Caribbean, was appointed to review Guyana’s application.

UG’s Turkeyen Campus location
The Guyana Government has already identified an eight-acre plot of land at the University of Guyana (UG)’s Turkeyen Campus, Greater Georgetown, to accommodate the main building and other facilities relating to the Caribbean’s newest addition to its current complement of accredited law schools. The plot, located at the southwestern section within the university’s compound, has already been cleared and prepared for the construction works to commence.

The AG had previously told the Guyana Times that after funding is secured in this year’s budget, the procurement process to select a contractor will commence. The plan and architectural design of the new law school are already drawn up and were part of the proposal that was presented to and approved by the Council. AG Nandlall told the National Assembly that when completed, the law school will not only benefit Guyanese law school students but also those from around the region, thus bringing in income for the country. “It is going to be a regional law school. It will attract students from across the Caribbean. And of course, it will provide cheap and accessible legal education to our own Guyanese. This is not only an academic institution, but it is also an economic venture because people of the Caribbean will come here. They will have to live. They will have to find accommodation. They will have to board lodges and eat, and Guyanese will benefit from those investments,” the Minister noted on Friday.
An almost 30-year effort
For nearly three decades, Guyana has been trying to establish a law school within its jurisdiction since Guyanese law students are forced to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. However, only the 25 top law students from Guyana are allowed each year into the programme. UG’s Law Degree programme usually has about 40 students per year. Moreover, the high cost of living in Trinidad has deterred many persons from further pursuing a legal career, but in response, the Guyana Government started offering limited fully funded scholarships to Hugh Wooding Law School. Under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Administration, attempts were made to establish the Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence Haynes Law School. However, the CLE was not approached about the project initially, and when permission was eventually sought, it was denied in late 2017. “My predecessor, Basil Williams, went ahead, and he turned the sod. He made the front page of the paper. He named the law school, but he never got permission from the lawful authorities to construct the law school. So, it turned out to be a dupe. It turned out to be a sham,” Nandlall stated during Friday’s presentation. The CLE is a regional organisation which operates the Hugh Wooding Law School in the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas.