Guyana secures quota at Hugh Wooding Law School

Sep 07, 2016 News

Guyana once again recorded a victory on the issue of 25 Guyanese Law students being guaranteed a place at the Hugh Wooding Law School for the next three academic years.
The Guyana Bar Association expressed great appreciation for the relentless efforts made by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams.
Guyana’s delegation consisted of the Minister, who is a member of the Executive Council, the Chief Justice (ag) the Honourable Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards; Gem Sanford-Johnson, President of the Guyana Bar Association, Excellence Dazzell, Secretary of the Guyana Bar Association and Barbara Reynolds, Deputy Vice Chancellor, who represented the University of Guyana.
The old agreement, signed in November 2009, which guaranteed 25 students a place at the Law School expired in November 2012.
The draft Collaborative Agreement referred to, first came up for consideration at a Council of Legal Education meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago in September 2014, but no consensus was reached.
Eventually a revised draft was presented for consideration at this year’s meeting in Antigua. The agreement however contained a particular clause which, if signed by the University of Guyana, would have placed the students in a sea of uncertainty.
At the General meeting, it was indicated by the Principal (ag) of the Hugh Wooding Law School that there was a problem with available space at Hugh Wooding and there was the option of students taking up places at the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas.
However Attorney General Williams quickly pointed out and submitted, that Regulation 4 (3) of the Council of Legal Education Professional Law School Regulations, provides that Application for entry to the Hugh Wooding Law School shall be made by persons ordinarily resident in: Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
Adding if “space availability” is applied to Guyana, it should be applicable to all the other jurisdictions zoned to Hugh Wooding. If not, it would be discriminatory.
He further noted that Guyanese students always excelled at exams at the Hugh Wooding Law School and some appear on the Principal’s Roll of Honor.
The Honourable Chief Justice (ag.) Justice Cummings-Edwards added emphasis in her presentation, on the economic hardship it would cause students of the University of Guyana if they are forced to attend the out of zone Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas to obtain their Legal Education Certificate (LEC).
After much deliberation and with some support coming from the representative of the University of the West Indies, the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education decided to put the issue of the proposed change in the clause to a vote, and Guyana succeeded by garnering the support of 20 members of the Council with six against.
The Admission Committee showed leniency in applications for re-entry by any student who was required to withdraw from the Hugh Wooding Law School for having failed the said Course within the past two academic years.
It turned out to be a very successful meeting for Guyanese Law Students who are now asked to keep up the high standards expected of them. In the Course of Ethics, students from all other jurisdictions zoned to Hugh Wooding Law School shared in this success.

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