Social Media Accounts Directive By Law School Is Unconstitutional – Dafeamekpor

Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Subsidiary Legislation in Parliament, Mr Rockson Nelson Dafeamekor, has described a directive by the Ghana Law School to all students to submit their social media accounts for monitoring as unconstitutional and unacceptable.

According to him, the directive is tantamount to media censorship and gagging of the students.

He said the 1992 Constitution frowns on any such conduct or attempt to restrict and, for that matter, gag Law School students from the free expression of their views.

In a statement on October 9, the South Dayi lawmaker said social media has come to provide a legitimate platform for ordinary citizens to have access to media and a medium for the expression of their views emanating from their conscience and beliefs without any hindrance.

“It must again be reiterated that these conducts and directives emanate from the manner through which these students were admitted into the Law School. It can be recalled that these students were compelled, in their recent entrance examination, to sign off their rights to challenge results even when they felt the need to challenge the same.

“Unfortunately, these incidents are gradually providing power to the administrators of legal education to keep chipping off the rights that are available to would-be officers and practitioners of the law.

“We must therefore be worried at any efforts directed at taking further the rights of Law School students. Any such efforts must be resisted, condemned, and pointed out as such,” he said in a statement.

Background

The Ghana School of Law has requested the social media handles of students for monitoring to make sure that character befitting the legal profession is maintained.

According to the Director of the School, Yaw Oppong, the exercise will go a long way to help many students willing to be called to the bar to maintain a good character.

“Everybody will have to provide their social media handles. We are going to look at it, and you will be monitored in terms of conduct. We are required by law to make recommendations. We don’t want to stampede you.”

“You are going to reapply beyond the pass and submit yourselves for all legitimate checks,” he said during the swearing-in ceremony of the School of Law Students’ Representative Council (SRC) executives.

He, therefore, charged the students to submit themselves for the character checks before the General Legal Council’s approval,” Mr Oppong explained.

This will ensure that the students’ good character requirements are not compromised, Yaw Oppong added.

“Once we are doing our best to ensure that as many of you as possible who want to help yourselves go beyond the stage you are, and we are succeeding, it will not compromise your good character.”

“It’s of no use if you are qualified to go to second year, and you are told that you cannot go because of bad character,” he noted.