Kwaku Azar demands candidates’ raw scores under RTI

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Prof. Azar says he has petitioned the GLC in the interest of the publicProf. Azar says he has petitioned the GLC in the interest of the public

• Prof Kwaku Azar has petitioned the GLC to release the raw scores of the 2021 Law School entrance exam

• He says his demand is in the interest of the public

• Prof. Azar over the years has been demanding a change in the Ghana Law School admission process

Private legal practitioner and Professor of Accounting, Stephen Kwaku Asare says he has in the interest of the public, evoked the Right to Information law and has petitioned the General Legal Council to release the raw scores of candidates who sat for this year’s Law School entrance examination.

According to results released by the General Legal Council for this year’s entrance examination, some 790 candidates representing 28% of the 2,824 total candidates passed.

However, according to the legal practitioner, who has over the years called for a review of the admission process, he has had recourse to call for the release of candidates raw scores considering the implication that over 72% would have failed to gain 50 marks in the examination.

“The entrance exam had two parts. Part 1 was 20 questions Multiple choice worth 40 points. Part 2 had 2 essays each worth 30 points for a total of 60 points.

“I studied the scores of the 790 candidates that were released. I found that all the candidates scored 30 points or higher on part 2. They then scored enough on the multiple-choice to get them 50 or higher.

“This then means that none of the 2,820 candidates who took the exam got less than 30 points on part 2 and made the so-called “pass list”.

“This, of course, can happen but the chances of observing such a score profile in an exam taken by 2,820 is rare indeed.

“We have to believe that no candidate got, as one example, 26 out of 60 on part 2 and 24 on part 1 to get an overall score of 50.

“Anyway, for the avoidance of doubt and in the public interest, I have today filed an RTI to the GSL to release all the raw scores immediately,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

He clarified that his request did not include the names and index numbers of the candidate saying “as I note in the request, I demand raw scores of all candidates who took the 2021 entrance examination, broken down by scores on the (1) Multiple Choice Questions, Multiple Choice Questions x 2, Essay Question 1, Essay Question 2 and Total of ((Multiple Choice Question x 2) + Essay Question 1 + Essay Question 2).

“I do not seek the candidates’ names or index number. Just a raw score of all candidates.”

Professor Azar further justified his course by stating that he had a legitimate interest in the validity of the grading system used by the GLC for the examination.

“I am a researcher and have a legitimate interest in the validity, reliability, and grading accuracy of the entrance examination.

“I have no interest in which candidate had a particular score; my interest is in just seeing all 2,820 raw scores to assess the entrance examination.

“It is also in the public interest to release this information to avoid rumourmongering.”

As to what he intends to do if his suspicion is proven right, the legal practitioner said if it happens that a candidate obtained 50% or more and was omitted from the list of students who passed, he “will call on the Special Prosecutor to investigate the matter and prosecute all those involved in any such abuse of their public office.”

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