The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference and the Christian Council of Ghana have weighed in on the growing debate surrounding the restriction of Muslims’ rights in the Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
According to the joint statement issued on November 25, 2025, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Christian Council of Ghana argued that the religious character of our schools is essential, not incidental.
They emphasised that government assistance to them with state assistance does not diminish the school’s identity.
It will be recalled that, in December 2024, Shafic Osman, a Ghanaian lawyer and PhD candidate at the London School of Economics, sued Wesley Girls’ Senior High School and the Government at the Supreme Court.
The case filed cited Wesley Girls’ restricting Muslim students from wearing the hijab, fasting during Ramadan, and practising other aspects of their faith.
Shafic Osman argued that a public school cannot lawfully restrict the religious rights of Muslim students nor compel them to practise a faith they do not subscribe to.
He grounded his case in the Constitution and international human rights principles, arguing that Wesley Girls’ rules violate Ghana’s constitutional protections for religious freedom.
Also, Dominic Ayine, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has responded to a legal challenge over religious rules at Wesley Girls’ Senior High School (SHS).
According to the Attorney General, Wesley Girls is not a public school in the ordinary sense. It is a school owned by the Methodist Church but managed and funded by the government of Ghana.
The State funds it, yes, but that funding does not strip the school of its right to preserve its ownership and Methodist character.
They emphasised that mission schools are founded on faith, adding that they have the constitutional right to operate schools that express our faith.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference and the Christian Council of Ghana statement reads, “Christian mission schools were not created by the state; they arose because the different Churches—Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican, and others—saw education as a central expression of our missionary mandate. We acquired the land, built the schools, trained the teachers, and shaped the ethos long before the modern State of Ghana existed.
“When the government began assisting us—primarily by paying teacher salaries and regulating curricula—it joined an already functioning system. State support, therefore, is a partnership, not a takeover. The ownership and identity of these schools reside with us. Government assistance does not diminish this identity, nor does it confer the right to alter the core religious character that defines these institutions,” part of the statement reads.
It further added, “Our position is grounded in constitutional and legal principles, particularly the rights to freedom of association and religious liberty. These rights protect both individuals and institutions. As Christian communities, we have the constitutional right to operate schools that express our faith.
“Expecting us to suppress the Christian identity of our schools to accommodate every religious group would infringe upon this freedom. The religious character of our schools is essential, not incidental. Maintaining it is both legitimate and lawful, even while welcoming students from diverse backgrounds who freely choose to join our mission,” they wrote.
