-work will commence immediately, President Ali says

GUYANA has secured the approval of the Council for Legal Education (CLE) for the establishment of its very own law school, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has disclosed.

President Ali made the announcement on Sunday during his address after being sworn in to serve a second term.

According to President Ali, during this second term, his government will continue to invest in the people of the country and in education through the expansion of scholarships, among other things.

It was then that he disclosed, “Based on the recent approval granted by the Council for Legal Education, we will commence work immediately on the establishment of Guyana’s very own law school.”

He went on to add that this will enable hundreds of persons to qualify as attorneys-at-law right in Guyana and allow them full rights to practise in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.

The establishment of a law school here has been a topic of discussion over the years, as students have complained bitterly about the limited number of annual intakes and high tuition and living expenses associated with completing their studies abroad.

The establishment of a law school in Guyana will address these issues along with the growing demand for legal education in Guyana and other parts of the regions.

As it is currently, Guyanese students looking to finish their legal education and acquire their Legal Education Certificate (LEC) to be able to practise law have to enrol in one of the three regional law schools in the Caribbean: the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago; the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.

Guyana is given 25 placements each year at the Hugh Wooding Law School, even as students face the heavy financial obligation of some GY$7 million in tuition and mandatory fees for the two-year LEC programme.

Late last year, Guyana presented a draft feasibility study to the CLE.

At that time, it was explained that the law school project, which has been a priority for Guyana, would see the government providing the land and financing the construction of the institution, with the CLE overseeing management, similar to how the other regional law schools are run.

In 2023, Attorney General Anil Nandlall had said that as plans moved ahead for the establishment of a law school here, five acres of land at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen campus had been identified for the construction of the school. All that was required then was the CLE’s approval.