Guyana Pleased With Arrangements For UG Students To Attend Law Schools

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government says it has finalized arrangements for 25 University of Guyana (UG) students to pursue legal studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, led a delegation that included UAG Vice Chancellor, Jacob Opadeyi, and members of the Guyana Bar Association for talks with officials of the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

“The issue of the admission of the Guyana law students graduating from UG was a live one. I am pleased to report that all arrangements are in place for the 25 top Guyanese graduates to enjoy automatic entry and the 10 other non-Guyanese are to be accommodated at the UWI and other law schools based on the zoning of the territory from which they may come.”

Nandlall said the question as to whether this problem will continue to arise annually is still alive, as it had been discussed by regional leaders at their last summit in Antigua in July.

In March, Caribbean Community leaders at their inter-sessional summit in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, had discussed the issue after President Donald Ramotar had raised the decision of the CLE Executive as it relates to the access of law schools in the region.

Guyana had said then that the decision taken in February had “serious implications for the access to the Law Schools and consequently admission to practice Law by persons other than graduates of the University of the West Indies, more particularly, graduates of the University of Guyana.

“In essence, this decision of the Council will jeopardize the automatic admission of L.L.B graduates from the University of Guyana into the Hugh Wooding Law School, which has, hitherto, existed under a UWI/UG C.L.E Collaborative Agreement that guaranteed the top 25 UG graduates automatic entry to the Hugh Wooding Law School,” the government aid then.

Nandlall said that the regional leaders at their summit in July in Antigua had called on the Council to review the process of legal education in the region.

“That directive of the Heads of Government was comprehensively discussed at the Council of Legal Education meeting and a sub-committee has been appointed by the Council to carry this process forward.

“Time is of the essence, as soon as the Heads of Government commit their financial resources that process will begin.”

In the interim, the Attorney General said several issues will be looked at including the role of the Council as to whether it should be administering the law school, or merely be an accrediting centre and allow schools to be administered by other entities including governments.

“So all those matters are going to embrace the attention of this review process and in the meanwhile, I hope we will continue to have our 25 automatic entries.”

Nandlall said that there would also be a review of the collaborative agreement between UG and the UWI.

“The University of Guyana is contending that after 20 years they cannot be grandfathered in the way that they have been over the last 20 years, after 20 years of producing students that have excelled in every respect at the Council of Legal Education.

“Perhaps the time has come to relook at the current arrangement in order to give UG greater parity in the relationship,” Nandlall said, adding that he believes that a collaborative arrangement, whatever form it may take, is necessary to continue to guarantee UG law degree the quality and the status that it enjoys, both in the academic community and professional environment.