• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang

Full Text: Opoku-Agyemang’s response to Appeals Court nomination, Petitions against him

March 25, 2022

Buy a 3 or 4-bedroom house at Senco Homes, Amrahia with 3yrs Payment Plan.

September 24, 2023

Your salaries are nothing: yet endangering your lives for tyrant Akufo-Addo – Police told

September 21, 2023

Just In: Police arrested us for standing at the 37 trotro station – Dela cries

September 21, 2023
File Photo

I will transform Ghana to Europe if elected as president – Matthew Asante

September 20, 2023
File photo

Unidentified man found dead near Bibiani Presbyterian School in Western North

September 20, 2023

Nationwide Covid-19 vaccination starts in Ashanti Region

September 20, 2023
Mahamudu Bawumia

Politics of insult is toxic; I won’t indulge in it – Bawumia tells delegates 

September 20, 2023

Top NDC officials tour voter registration centers in Accra

September 19, 2023

Don’t vote for Kennedy Agyepong as presidential candidate – Renowned pastor

September 19, 2023

Answer 170 economic questions posed to late Amissah-Arthur – Seth Terpker to Bawumia

September 19, 2023

NDC’s Atsu Forson donates to support limited voter registration exercise

September 19, 2023

Mahama honors NDC’s Alhaji Said Sinare

September 18, 2023
Eric Delanyo Alifo, Esq. is the President of LINSOD

EC, judiciary, police not promoting good democracy enough in Ghana — LINSOD alleges

September 18, 2023
The late Tauriq Amadu

NDC constituency secretary for Awutu Senya East is dead

September 16, 2023
NDC parliamentary candidate for Pru East, Emmanuel Kwaku Boam

Limited voter registration: Posterity will judge Jean Mensah-led EC – Pru East NDC PC

September 16, 2023

I want to see every sector of NDC hungry for Mahama’s second coming in 2024 – Alhaji Said

September 15, 2023

NDC will be happy to contest against Bawumia who cannot manage the NPP – Alhaji Said

September 15, 2023

NDC’s Leslie Tamakloe donates GHC205K to Volta branch

September 15, 2023

St. Timothy and Titus Anglican Church to organize free health screening

September 15, 2023

SENCO organizes Training Workshop for staff

September 15, 2023

Register and vote against NPP despite injunction – NDC’s Atsu Forson urges Ghanaians

September 14, 2023
Eric Delanyo Alifo, Esq. is the President of LINSOD

LINSOD fires back ‘braggadocious’ Akufo-Addo and AG over attack on Mahama

September 13, 2023

Get your names into the voter register and help NDC rescue dying Ghanaians – Dorcas Afotey

September 13, 2023

Bawumia’s campaign receives low turnout in Akatsi South

September 13, 2023

Refrain from attending Bawumia’s rally – NDC communicator cautions Akatsi youth

September 13, 2023
  • All News
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • AMN Research
  • My Story
  • Vovoli TV
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
  • Login
Awake News
Advertisement
  • News
    • Crime
    • Peace & Security
    • Diaspora
    • Press Release
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Religion
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • Finance
    • Energy
    • Telecom
    • Economy
    • Travel
    • Mining
    • Oil & Gas
    • Tourism & Hospitality
    • Real Estate
    • Transport
  • Politics
    • Awake Election Watch
    • NDC News
    • NPP News
    • CPP News
    • Opinion Polls
    • Elections
    • Flagbearers
  • Education
  • Health
  • ShowBiz
    • Celebrities
    • Concert
    • Fashion
    • Music
    • Lifestyle
  • Sports
    • Football
    • African Football
    • European Football
    • Basketball
    • Athletics
    • Boxing
    • Disability Sports
    • Tennis
    • Other Sports
  • Features
    • Opinions
    • Speeches
    • Poem
    • Interviews
    • Inspirations
    • People
    • People & Culture
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Crime
    • Peace & Security
    • Diaspora
    • Press Release
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Religion
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • Finance
    • Energy
    • Telecom
    • Economy
    • Travel
    • Mining
    • Oil & Gas
    • Tourism & Hospitality
    • Real Estate
    • Transport
  • Politics
    • Awake Election Watch
    • NDC News
    • NPP News
    • CPP News
    • Opinion Polls
    • Elections
    • Flagbearers
  • Education
  • Health
  • ShowBiz
    • Celebrities
    • Concert
    • Fashion
    • Music
    • Lifestyle
  • Sports
    • Football
    • African Football
    • European Football
    • Basketball
    • Athletics
    • Boxing
    • Disability Sports
    • Tennis
    • Other Sports
  • Features
    • Opinions
    • Speeches
    • Poem
    • Interviews
    • Inspirations
    • People
    • People & Culture
No Result
View All Result
Awake News
No Result
View All Result
Home Features Opinions

Full Text: Opoku-Agyemang’s response to Appeals Court nomination, Petitions against him

Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor by Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor
March 25, 2022
in Opinions
A A
0
Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang

Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang

60
SHARES
665
VIEWS
ShareShareShareShareShare

RelatedNews & Articles

Beware, The Tribal Supremacists: Myths of J.B. Danquah and the Big Six

Consider bringing back the volunteer groups for NDC

Abstaining from Voting in 2024 Should Never be an Option for the Youth

BRIEF RESPONSE TO THE MEDIA DISCUSSION ON PURPORTED NOMINATION TO THE COURT OF APPEAL

Senco Homes Senco Homes Senco Homes
ADVERTISEMENT

My attention has been drawn to various media publications and discussion on my suitability or otherwise to be recommended for an appointment as a Court of Appeal Judge. The basis for these discussions is the alleged unlawful admission of 10 students into the Ghana School of Law.

For the records I have not been officially notified or contacted about nomination for appointment to the Court of Appeal, neither have I been served with any court process or copies of the multiple petitions circulating on social media.

The Facts
I was appointed as an Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law in June 2020. Prior to this appointment, I have worked as a Senior Lecturer of the School from 1998. As it is widely known, the General Legal Council introduced Entrance Examinations for entry into the Ghana School of Law from 2012 as part of the reforms for professional legal education.

This policy restricted entry into the Ghana School of Law to only LL.B. holders who passed the entrance examination with a percentage of 50+.  My views on these reforms are of public knowledge and therefore need not be repeated. However, it is of public knowledge that I have been against the said restrictions and have always advocated for the opening of more opportunities for LL.B.  holders to achieve their heart’s desires. Apart from the restrictive nature of admissions to the School, the Council also operated “a zero-concession admission policy” which meant that no concession whatsoever was extended to the wards of key stakeholders, including members of staff and faculty. As a matter of fact, this policy was used to deny, not only my ward but wards of other lecturers and staff, admission to the School after obtaining scores ranging from 46 to 49 percent.

I considered this policy as unfair especially on my part after 23 years of dedicated service to the School. Upon assumption of office, and considering my long-held views on the admission policy, I submitted two policy proposals for consideration namely, Concessionary Admission Policy and Full Fee-Paying Policy. The Concessionary Admission Policy was to offer concessionary admissions to wards of faculty, staff and other key stakeholders without compromising the meritorious admission system.

The Full Fee-Paying System was meant to stem the tide of Ghanaian students travelling to other jurisdictions, notably the Gambia to pursue professional legal education. It was meant to reduce the cut off point for those desirable and ready to pay the full cost of the education as is done in all public universities for their sought after programmes. For instance, in the 2021/2022 academic year, 330 Ghanaians applied to enter the Gambia School of Law paying $100 as application fees. Out of the number, only 55 were admitted paying almost $10,000 as School fees for one year. Apart from saving our compatriots the hassle in travelling to other countries, the policy was also to be used to generate revenue for expansion of infrastructure to admit more students at the Ghana School of Law.

Admission of 10 students

In the 2020/2021 academic year, I managed to convince the General Legal Council to admit all students who scored 50 percent and above. This culminated in the admission of 1,045 students. The admission of this number of students led to the introduction of the innovative triple track system of classes which created the potential to admit almost 1,100 students. In addition to the 1,045 students, the school offered concessionary admission to 10 students upon request from key stakeholders who have contributed immensely to the school and the nation as a whole. This brought the total admission to 1055, compared to the 450 admitted in 2018/2019 and the 128 students admitted in 2017/2018 academic year.

Admittedly, the offer of the 10 concessionary admissions was made without the approval of the General Legal Council but was not done in secrecy. The issue was brought to the attention of the Chairperson of the Examinations Committee. Other key members of the Council were also aware due to discussions on the issue prior to the admissions. These admissions were offered without any ill-motive or for any personal gain but in the interest of the Ghana School of Law. Indeed, it should be made known that one offer of admission paved the way for the release of an entire building at KNUST which serves as the Kumasi Campus of the Law School. This enabled the School to increase the intake in Kumasi from 50 to over 200 as well as securing places for a library, staff common room, administration facility and a canteen for the students. I must stress all the decisions taken in my one year as Acting Director were in the best interest of the School and students.

In fact, in addition to the admission of the 1,055 students, I was also instrumental in securing the approval of the Council to introduce a Transitional Law Course Programme which paved the way for over 274 students to be allowed to re-enter the School to finish their one-year programme. These were students who were caught by the reversal of professional law to two years without any transition period for repeating students. The New Transitional Law Programme enabled the affected students to continue with the one-year programme for three years after which they would be withdrawn. All these were done to offer opportunities to enter the Ghana School of Law. This has been my avowed aim for the over 23 years that I have served the school.

General Legal Council Investigations Committee

The General Legal Council on or about July 2021 established a 3-member committee to investigate allegations of admission of non-LLB holders to the Ghana School of Law; admission of students who did not write the entrance examinations; the payment of monies for admission to the Law School and other issues. The Committee found all the reportage as false except the admission of the 10 students on concessionary basis. The Committee found as a fact that all the 10 students wrote the Entrance Examination but failed to secure 50 percent or more. The Committee found as a fact that the said admissions were done without the approval of the General Legal Council.

The Committee therefore concluded that the said admissions were irregular. The General Legal Council accepted the recommendations of the Council that those 10 students admitted without approval of the Council based on my proposed concessionary admission policy be withdrawn from the School. The students have been duly withdrawn. Further, the Council has set up a three-member Disciplinary Committee to conduct disciplinary hearings against myself, the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar of the School on charges of insubordination and acting improperly in our office contrary to the provisions of the Public Service Policy and Framework Manual for Public Servants. The Disciplinary Committee is yet to commence its proceedings let alone pronounce any sanctions.

My Public Record

As stated earlier, I have served the Ghana School of Law for over 23 years. My passion and commitment to legal education is known by all, especially thousands of students who have passed through my hands. In all my public life I have stood firmly on principles I believe in to the displeasure of some segments of society, which to me is normal. I must emphasize that in all my dealings in public no one can accuse me of corrupt acts or rendering services for unlawful gain.

As the Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law, I performed my task diligently and sought at all times to change the face of professional legal education. As already indicated, the admission of 10 additional students on concessionary basis to the 1,045 students admitted for the 2020/2021 academic year was not done for any personal or pecuniary gain. There were no underhand dealings, as all the requests for admissions were considered officially. I must stress and without sounding boastful that I performed very creditably in just one year as an Acting Director. Short as the period may seem, I was able to facilitate the following projects at the school:

Massive renovation of the entire Makola campus, the first since the construction of the School in 1958
Construction of 20 additional washrooms to cater for the increasing number of students:

  • Asphalting and paving the entire Makola campus
  • Construction of a new 100-seater classroom at the Makola campus
  • Construction of an astro turf for the School’s quadrangle
  • Renovation of the school’s water fountain
  • Construction of a modern and imposing Law School entrance
  • Rehabilitation of the two residential facilities at Taifa
  • Commencement of the construction of the Law Village project at Legon, a project which was on the drawing board for over 20 years
  • Securing a 57- Seater bus from the office of the President for the School
  • Securing a 47-seater bus from the office of the Vice President for the School
  • Purchase of 57-seater modern Marco Polo bus from the IGF of the School
  • Purchase of Nissan Urvan Mini bus in collaboration with the SRC of the School
  • Procurement of Landcruiser Prado for the Office of the Director from the IGF
  • Procurement of Toyota Fortuner for the office of the Registrar from the IGF
  • Procurement of Toyota Corrolla for the office of the Deputy Registrar from the IGF
  • Securing the entire ICIL Building at KNUST rent free for the Kumasi Campus
  • Introduction of industry specific short courses to generate revenue for the School
  • Mobilising over Eight Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis  {GHȻ800,000}from alumni and corporate sponsors
  • Admitting over 1,000 students and introducing the triple track class system in the 2020/2021 academic year
  • Introduction of the New Transitional Law Programme for almost 300 repeating students
  • Ensuring the Call to the Bar of over 650 students in the midst of COVID 19

Conclusion

Much as I do not begrudge anyone who feels offended by my decision to introduce a concessionary admission policy at the Ghana School of Law, leading to the admission of 10 students without approval of the General Legal Council, it is my wish that the issue be considered dispassionately and in consideration of the service I have rendered to the Ghana School of Law. Rather than sounding repetitive, I still hold the view that denying admissions on some concessionary basis to key stakeholders of the school, such as faculty, staff and others who have contributed immensely to the School is unfair.

It is my hope that the General Legal Council and the public at large will ponder over whether it is fair for a ward of a member of faculty or staff to be denied admission to the Ghana School of Law after obtaining between 47% and 49% in an entrance examination. As I have done consistently, save as I admitted the 10 students in addition to the 1,045 students for the 2020/2021 academic year without the approval of the General Legal Council, for which I apologized to the Council, same was not done for any personal or pecuniary interest but in the best interest of the School.

Thank you.

Tags: Ghana School of LawMaxwell Opoku-Agyemang
Do you have any article or news or story leads? Let Awake News energize that story for you. Send them to editor@awakenewsroom.com or WhatsApp: +233249155003 ========================
Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor

Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor

Efo Korsi Senyo has over 10years of experience working as an investigative journalist. He is the Executive Editor of Awake Newspaper, Awake Africa, and Head of Awake Investigations. Connect with him via senyo@amnafrica.com or WhatsApp: +233249155003

Related Posts

Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang
Opinions

Senyo writes: Opoku-Agyemang exposes himself in the Law School admission

by Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor
March 27, 2022
opoku-agyemang-anim-yeboah
News

Opoku-Agyemang admits to have illegally admitted 10 students in the Law School

by Efo Korsi Senyo | Executive Editor
March 25, 2022
Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang
News

Ex-Law School Director Reacts To Court Of Appeal ‘Nomination’

by Awake News
March 25, 2022
opoku-agyemang-anim-yeboah
News

GLC petitioned to delete Opoku-Agyemang and 2 others from the roll of lawyers

by Britney Brown
March 21, 2022
Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang
News

Law School admissions: Arrest Opoku-Agyemang and 2 others – Senyo petitions IGP

by Britney Brown
March 21, 2022
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Akufo-Addo

Agyapadie Secret Book: Akufo-Addo, Akyem NPP’s grand scheme to capture Ghana exposed

November 30, 2020

Just In: Police arrested us for standing at the 37 trotro station – Dela cries

September 21, 2023

Your salaries are nothing: yet endangering your lives for tyrant Akufo-Addo – Police told

September 21, 2023

Buy a 3 or 4-bedroom house at Senco Homes, Amrahia with 3yrs Payment Plan.

September 24, 2023

Your salaries are nothing: yet endangering your lives for tyrant Akufo-Addo – Police told

September 21, 2023

Just In: Police arrested us for standing at the 37 trotro station – Dela cries

September 21, 2023

RSS Properties for Sale

  • 8 plots of land for sale at Trasacco September 17, 2023
  • 3-bedroom house for sale at Amrahia September 17, 2023
  • Affordable house for sale at Amasaman August 31, 2023
  • 3-bedroom house for sale at Adenta August 16, 2023
  • 2-bedroom house for sale at Adenta August 14, 2023
  • LEGITIMATE LANDS FOR SALE AT PRAMPRAM August 11, 2023
  • REGISTERED LANDS FOR SALE AT COMMUNITY 25 August 11, 2023

Vovoli TV

ADVERTS

Awake News logo

News Production & Advertising

Awake News is published by AM Network which seeks to give readers balanced and credible news from across Ghana and the world. We focus on giving our reader the reason to return to our portal for any news and why advertiser must place their ads on our portal...read more

Services

  • My Story
  • Advertise With Us
  • AMN Research
  • Contact Us
  • Vovoli TV
  • Awake Investigates

Partners

  • SenyoMart
  • GoPropertyLink.com
  • Senyo Global Solutions
  • FNN24.com
  • LoudSilenceRadio.com
  • GHface.com
  • myxyzonline.com
  • SenyoHost.com

 


Do you have any article for publication? Are you an eyewitness? Submit your stories and articles now via awakenewsonline@gmail.com or WhatsApp: +233249155003

  • All News
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • AMN Research
  • My Story
  • Vovoli TV

Copyright © 2012-2020 | Awake News

No Result
View All Result
  • Vovoli TV
  • All Latest News
  • News
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Entertainment
  • Press Release
  • My Story

Copyright © 2012-2020 | Awake News

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Senco Homes