…law students urge action for local law school
…lament high cost, prohibitive intake at HWLS

By Gabriella Chapman

THE need for a law school in Guyana has long been the cry of many law students, who are not privileged to read for their Legal Education Certificate (LEC) to practice.

The current system at the University of Guyana (UG) only provides for law students to certify in the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme. And as of September 2016, following an agreement with UG, University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Council of Legal Education (CLE), after the LLB, the top 25 Guyanese graduates, are allotted automatic entry into the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, to get their LEC. Prior to 2016, students were admitted on an ad hoc basis.

While this may seem like progress, it still is an unfortunate circumstance for many, since the student population in the law programme at UG every year, is just under 100. With only 25 being secured, this still leaves 50 plus graduates in the cold.

Not only is the limited amount an unfortunate circumstance, but the students also spoke to not being able to afford the cost to go to Hugh Wooding.

Speaking with some of these graduates, they all expressed how helpful it would be to the development of their careers, if Guyana has its own law school.
Akeeta Kingston completed her LLB at UG in 2016, and placed seventh in the top 25. However, the young woman said that she could not afford to go to Hugh Wooding, because in addition to an over $3M tuition fee, there is still accommodation cost, food, books and more.

So Kingston worked for two years, then the opportunity came in the form of a scholarship, for her to go to India to read for a Master of Laws (LLM) in Public Law and Legal theory.
Though this was a major accomplishment, the young woman said that she still cannot practise because she is not in receipt of her LEC.

Additionally, Kingston said “I want to be a Parliamentary Counsel because I want to play a role in drafting of legislations. I think they can do so much better in that area, and I want my input to be recognised. I’d need my LEC for that. So if Guyana has its own law school, it would be good.”

Kingston also said that she believes the performance as well, will improve in students at the LLM level. Because when some of them go to Trinidad, it’s hard to adjust. And sometimes the burden of having to find so much money to get by, hinders academic performance.

However, Past President of the Law Society UG Turkeyen Campus, Chevy Devonish, said that “I think that we should be mindful that a local law school may not mean cheaper tuition, as that cost will be driven by the costs to run the school, salaries, which the CLE will likely have to be comparable to that paid at other law schools, and costs to establish and maintain an up-to-date library. As such, unless told otherwise, I do not yet see a reason to expect tuition to fall substantially below the near six million currently charged by the Hugh Wooding Law School. The largest benefit is likely to be the cost to live.”
Notwithstanding the above sentiment, Devonish said that there is definitely still a need for a law school in Guyana in a way which ensures Guyana’s compliance with its obligations under the Agreement Establishing the CLE, and which is in compliance with quality assurance requirements.

Guyana was said to be in the process of submitting its shareholders agreement, feasibility study and revised business plan to the CLE, sometime last year.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, had said that following a meeting with the Jamaican joint venture partners – the Law School of the Americas (LCA) and the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) – it was decided that all relevant documentation will be submitted to the CLE for review.

“We have reached agreement on the shareholders’ agreement and feasibility study and business plan, so those documents will be sent to the CLE for their appraisal,” said Williams. He told reporters that with Guyana having its own law school, the pressure of finding in excess of $3M for tuition, housing, food and transportation by Guyanese students would be significantly minimised.

The attorney general had assured that fees will be much lower. “Our people are paying nearly $3M over there and they still have to travel, eat…so anything would be better,” he stated.

Additionally, Williams said efforts were being made to have significant progress made by September 2019. He said while there are hopes for the school to begin operations then, “we want our campus to be built.” Some 10 acres of land within the compound of Turkeyen Campus has been allocated for the construction of the US$6M law school.
Williams said that the law school, which is to be named after outstanding jurist, Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence (JOF) Haynes Law School will be under the aegis of the CLE, though governance of the school will reside with the partners. He also emphasised that the establishment of a law school is essential now that the nation is at the cusp of transformation.
President of the Bar Association of Guyana, Teni Housty, told this newspaper that he cannot comment on the issue, but he knows that it is one that is burning. Housty however shared, that the issue is still engaging the CLE.
Without CLE’s approval, the graduates of a Guyana school would not be recognised in the rest of the Caribbean.

At the opening ceremony of the 50th Meeting of the CLE at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, late last year, President David Granger had said in his feature address that Guyana is in dire need of the permission to establish its own law school.
“Guyana’s need for a greater number of legal practitioners cannot be satisfied by the present quotas imposed on our students at regional law schools. Guyana looks forward to the Council of Legal Education to facilitate the education of more specialised legal practitioners in the Caribbean and in Guyana itself,” President Granger had said.
Granger told those that were present at the meeting, that given the council’s undisputed contributions to the development of Caribbean jurisprudence, it needs to find new ways of improving access to, and the delivery of, affordable legal education to “all corners of our Caribbean.”

“So, there is much work to do, for the council to improve access to all corners of the Caribbean. These measures should include, if necessary, embracing new technologies which support their objectives. They should ensure, also, that non-discriminatory admissions to the regional law schools are made available,” he stressed.
At the moment there are three law schools in the region – Hugh Wooding, which is located in Trinidad; Norman Manley, which is in Jamaica and Eugene Dupuch in The Bahamas. Due to zoning, Guyanese students are accommodated at the Trinidad institution.
Meanwhile, scores of graduates are still trying to obtain their LEC.