The recent debate involving Muslim students and Christian mission schools, especially Wesley Girls’ High School, highlights a recurring national misunderstanding about the identity of these institutions. Mission schools were founded by churches with clear Christian philosophies, strict discipline, and structured value systems. These principles are exactly what built their longstanding reputation for excellence.
Students who choose such schools do so willingly. No one is forced to attend Wesley Girls', St. Louis, Holy Child, or any other mission institution. Their Christian heritage is public knowledge, and their rules, whether on fasting, worship, or conduct, are rooted in that heritage. It is therefore unreasonable for parents to enrol their children in these schools and later insist that the institutions abandon the very values that define them.
Some argue that mission schools now benefit from taxpayers’ money and should therefore surrender their faith-based identity. But this argument is weak. Private schools across the country also benefit from the Free SHS policy, yet the profits they make remain entirely theirs. Receiving government support does not strip an institution of its identity or ownership. Mission schools cannot be treated differently simply because they excel.
It is also important to consider other faith-based schools. Take Islamic schools, for example. Imagine an Islamic school decides to observe a Muslim holiday that is not recognised as a national holiday. Would Christian students in that school be allowed to insist that teachers ignore the holiday and conduct regular classes to suit their own preferences? Certainly not, because the school’s identity and rules are guided by its faith. Suppose this is unacceptable in an Islamic school. Why should Christian mission schools be forced to compromise their policies to accommodate practices—such as fasting or other religious activities—that contradict their established rules?
If the government or the Ghana Education Service forces mission schools to accept religious practices they do not permit, it sets a dangerous precedent: soon, any group could claim their constitutional rights to justify cultism, idolatry, or other disruptive practices on campus. The principle is simple, let no one force others to accept what they would not allow themselves. Faith-based schools must retain the autonomy to run their institutions according to their founding values.
The simplest way to end this constant tension is for the government to return mission schools to their original owners. Churches can then run their institutions according to their values, Muslim parents who desire faith-aligned schooling can choose Islamic schools, and government schools can remain neutral.
Ghana must respect diversity in education. Parents must respect the choices they make. And mission schools must be allowed to preserve the values that have shaped generations of disciplined, responsible leaders.
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