GTEC, CLET propose single accreditation pathway for law programs under reform

Ghana’s legal education regulators are moving to create one approval route for universities that want to run law programmes, in what could become a major operational step under the new Legal Education Act, 2026.

At a meeting in Accra, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and the Council for Legal Education and Training agreed on a proposed unified accreditation model for Bachelor of Laws and Legal Professional Training programmes.

The plan is designed to end overlapping approval processes and replace them with a single application route, joint inspections and one evaluation framework.

Under the proposed arrangement, GTEC will focus on institutional standards, including governance, facilities, staffing and general tertiary quality assurance.

CLET will be responsible for legal education-specific matters, including curriculum, training standards, assessment systems and professional readiness.

Neither regulator will be able to grant full accreditation on its own.

The framework also proposes a joint accreditation steering committee and a permanent joint secretariat to coordinate applications, inspections, reviews and compliance monitoring.

The accreditation process will follow eight stages, beginning with pre-application engagement and ending with the public listing of approved programmes.

Institutions will also be subject to annual compliance reports, risk-based monitoring and periodic inspections.

Where institutions fall short, sanctions may begin with advisory notices and formal warnings before escalating to suspension of admissions or revocation of accreditation.

Supporters say the model will reduce duplication, give universities clearer expectations and offer students better assurance about the quality of approved law programmes.

The move comes after the Legal Education Act, 2026, ended the Ghana School of Law’s long-standing dominance over professional legal training.

The Act allows other accredited institutions to run Legal Professional Training programmes, subject to strict regulatory oversight.

It also created CLET as an independent statutory body to regulate legal education, while the General Legal Council continues to regulate the profession and call qualified persons to the Bar.

That separation was a key demand of reform advocates, who had argued that the previous system created a conflict because the GLC both regulated and controlled the Ghana School of Law.

GTEC and CLET are now working to translate the new law into practical procedures.

Their joint framework is expected to provide the standards and instruments universities must satisfy before offering LLB or professional legal training programmes.

Although the transition is expected to require stronger institutional capacity and harmonised data systems, the proposed model is intended to open the market to more providers without weakening professional standards.

The broader aim is to create a more accessible but tightly regulated pathway into the legal profession.