Law school in Guyana: CLE to continue discussion in September – AG
During the consideration of the Budget 2025 estimates and expenditure on Monday, Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall provided an update on the progress of establishing Guyana’s first law school.
Guyana has already completed a feasibility study for the establishment of a law school and the findings were handed over to the Council for Legal Education (CLE), a regional organisation which operates the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad & Tobago, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.
With land already identified for the construction of the school, Nandlall revealed that the CLE will continue talks on its establishment later this year.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall
“We have already located approximately seven acres of land within the precincts of the University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen, we have submitted a preliminary feasibility study to the council of legal education as requested by the council.”
He added, “last week Wednesday we met, well the council established a subcommittee of the council to specifically address the issue of the establishment of another law school of the council in this time in Guyana and that subcommittee met only last Wednesday and certain time lines were agreed on for the submission of the entirety of the feasibility study in time for consideration by council at its September meeting.”
For nearly three decades, Guyana has been trying to establish a law school within its jurisdiction, because its law students are forced to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, where only the 25 top students are allowed each year into the programme.
Under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Administration, attempts had been made to establish the Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence Haynes Law School, but the CLE had not been approached about the project initially, and when permission had eventually been sought, it was denied in late 2017.
Back in September 2022, the CLE had approved a new proposal from Guyana to set up its own law school. The CLE had subsequently outlined the requirements that the country needed to fulfil, including conduct of the feasibility study. (G2)
