Defeamakpor requests info on ‘unlawful’ admission at Ghana School of Law
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) of South-Dayi, Mr Rockson-Nelson Defeamakpor, has filed a right to information request seeking information on an alleged unlawful admission of 20 students by the Ghana School of Law (GSL) in the 2020/2021 academic year.
The request dated last Tuesday and signed by the legislator was directed at the Chairman of the General Legal Council, the body responsible for regulating legal education and the legal profession.
Advertisement
The request for information is premised on Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution which guarantees the right to information and the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989).
Request
Per the request, Mr Defeamakpor wants information on the work of a fact-finding committee set up to investigate the alleged unlawful admission by the GSL.
“It is my understanding that Mr Anthony Forson Jnr, the outgoing President of the Ghana Bar Association, chaired the committee to inquire into the alleged unlawful admission of some of the students by the Ghana School of Law management.
Specifically, I write to request for the certified true copies of all query(ies) served and the response(s) filed by the officials cited in the alleged unlawful and unapproved admission of over 20 students into the Professional Law Course programme in 2020,” the letter stated.
According to the legislator, his request for information was specifically directed at the queries and responses of the Ag. Director of the GSL, the registrar and the deputy registrar.
It is the case of Mr Defeamakpor that his request is of utmost importance because according to him, the issue was of public interest.
“The inquiry appears to be the cause of the seeming delay in the release of the examination results of Part I students of the Ghana School of Law.
Right to information
The RTI Act was passed in 2019 to operationalise Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution, which stipulates that “all persons shall have the right to information, subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.
The law gives people the right to access all sorts of information, apart from exempt information.
Per the law, exempt information includes information on the President or the Vice-President, information relating to the Cabinet, law enforcement and public safety, international relations, the economy or any other interest.
Other exempt information includes internal workings of public institutions, privileged information and personal information.
Per the RTI Act, the RTI Commission has the mandate to promote, monitor, protect and enforce the right to information granted the people under Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution.
People denied access to information or who are dissatisfied with the process to access information can file complaints with the commission, and it has the power to make a determination on the complaints.
Writer’s email: [email protected]
