The Co-founder of the university college, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, who disclosed this, explained that the move was grounded in the college’s belief that providing legal practitioners with the ability to practise in the local languages would widen access to justice and give everyone the opportunity to fair trials.

“I have been in the legal terrain for nearly 48 years and I have come across several situations where translation in the courtroom was not good enough, causing justice to suffer; in a sense that some innocent people get convicted as a result of poor translation,” he said.

Mr Ansa-Asare, a legal luminary and former Director of Legal Education, made this known last Thursday at the inauguration of the college’s fourth governing council at Larteh in the Eastern Region, where the university is building its new main campus.

The 14-member council is chaired by a professor at the Fisheries Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Steve Amisah, and includes the Rector of the university college, Irene Ansa-Asare Horsham, as well as professors Christie Stancie Abaidoo, William Gariba Akanwawiak, Helen Yitah and Charles Owu-Ewie.

The rest are Bishop Felix Odei Annancy Monica Ankrah, Dr Beth Offei-Awuku, Ekow Afedzie, Stephen Fifi Boafo, Nelson Noble Amedewonu, Seyram Kofi Seyram and Constance Amofa.

A Justice of the Supreme Court, Samuel Kwame Asiedu, administered the oath of office.

Mountcrest University College is affiliated to KNUST.

Mr Ansa-Asare said the time had come for the country to take control of the commanding heights of its justice delivery system and to do that, the next generation of lawyers, judges and translators would need to be very proficient in both law and their mother tongues.

“By October next year, we will align the teaching of law with Ghanaian languages and it is going to begin the pilot programme with Akan being Fante, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Nzema, Akyem and Bono,” he explained.

The founder of the institution, therefore, charged the new council to work hard to reactivate and obtain accreditation for all programmes as the institution seeks to gain a presidential charter and operate as a full-fledged university. 

University of choice

Prof. Amisah, in his acceptance speech, pledged on behalf of the council members to work hard in promoting the mission and vision of the institution in all spheres of its endeavours to make it a university of choice.

He added that he would strive to make Mountcrest as visible as possible through intensive outreach programmes and community engagements to keep the enrollment and retention of students at a high level after the institution had gained its presidential charter.

“We don’t want people to say they only went to Mountcrest because it was affiliated to KNUST, but because Mountcrest is a distinguished institution on its own,” the chairperson of the council stressed. 

Role

The Rector of the university, Ansa-Asare Horsham, said the role of the institution was to make an impact in communities and to transform the lives of ordinary citizens through the delivery of quality education.

“We are not doing that just through education, but from a humanistic point of view and that is why the programmes that we offer are socially relevant and that forms the basis of our mission and vision,” she explained.

She said looking at the diversity, experience and expertise of the council members, the institution’s goal of gaining a presidential charter was close to being realised, adding; “I think the timing is excellent because with your direction, we can place Mountcrest University at the forefront and take teaching, research and community engagement to another level.”