By: Jayda Jeune | HGP Nightly News |
Legal scholar Professor Neville Bissember has described the establishment of a new law school in Guyana as an “excellent development” and a significant milestone for legal education in the Caribbean.
He noted that the initiative — long under consideration — aligns with the framework of the Council of Legal Education (CLE), which oversees post-graduate training for law graduates pursuing the Legal Education Certificate (LEC).
“The building is just the beginning of that new arrangement,” Professor Bissember said, adding that it represents the next phase in expanding access to legal training within Guyana.
Currently, Caribbean students seeking to obtain their LEC must attend one of three institutions: the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, or the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.
However, only the top 25 students from the University of Guyana’s law program are typically admitted to the Hugh Wooding Law School each year — forcing many others to seek alternatives at significant personal cost.
Professor Bissember highlighted that financial and logistical barriers such as travel, accommodation, and living expenses have long deterred many Guyanese students from pursuing their professional legal training abroad.
“If you take away that prohibitive cost of students having to travel across to Trinidad and Tobago or even to The Bahamas, that must be a positive step — an excellent step,” he emphasized.
The establishment of the new law school, he said, will not only reduce the financial burden on students and families, but also increase access to professional legal education, build local institutional capacity, and strengthen Guyana’s academic and legal infrastructure.
“It will ensure that more qualified graduates can obtain their LEC without the constraints of limited regional spaces,” Professor Bissember added.
Construction of the law school is expected to begin soon as part of the broader initiative to expand Guyana’s role in regional legal education.
