Regional body supports Guyana’s need for law school

The Association of Caribbean Students for Equal Access to the Legal Profession (ACSEAL) has made an urgent call for attention to be paid to thousands of students who are affected in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) states, due to what they described as “unfair admission policies” at law schools in the Region.
The regional body recently compiled a report highlighting the need for a law school in Guyana.
ACSEAL was keen to note that the issue is one which is being administered by law schools throughout Caricom.
According to the body, its support for the law school in Guyana comes from a study which was conducted to consider the “status and relevance of the current legal education system; the extent to which it meets the needs of the respective Commonwealth Caribbean societies; and concerns of discrimination in access to legal education and by extension, the legal profession.”
ACSEAL also noted that the initiative of the law school, along with the other suggestions it made in its report, are intended solely to improve justice for the citizens in the Region.
Some of the noteworthy findings and recommendations of the report include: the establishment of the UTech Law School in Jamaica, as well as law schools in Guyana and Antigua; the abolition of the preference-based admission policy at the regional law schools which presently grants automatic entry exclusively to University of the West Indies (UWI) law graduates.
“Recognition of students’ concerns of the lack of transparency and accountability in the Council of Legal Education (CLE) Annual Entrance Examination; the abolition of the CLE Entrance Examination in its current form; and the reconstitution and reorganisation of the CLE,” the body said in a statement on Monday.
Just Tuesday, <<<<Guyana Times>>>> reported that Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams announced that the shareholders agreement for a local law school is being finalised.
The Government had previously said a plot of land had already been identified for the institution.
Williams had attacked the Council of Legal Education (CLE) Chairman Reginald Armour for responding to the concerns raised by former Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall without consulting with the current Government on the matter.
He also said that the recent increased tuition fees at the Hugh Wooding Law School and the difficulty of having Guyanese students live and study in Trinidad and Tobago also support’s Guyana’s push in this direction.
To substantiate his point, the Minister said, “Tuition fees this year have been increased at Hugh Wooding and are now TT$97,000…, well over $3 million (Guyana dollars)… that’s only for tuition, they still have to live and exist in Trinidad.”
He also made the point that Trinidad and Barbados churn out at least 200 law graduates yearly, while Guyana is allowed to have only 25 or less lawyers trained on an annual basis.
Williams is adamant that Guyana has not been refused permission to set up a law school here. As such, preparations are being made to advance this process at the University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen campus, where the proposed school would be built.