Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Boamah-Nyarko, has cautioned that escalating the debate surrounding the Wesley Girls’ Senior High School religious rights case could heighten unnecessary tensions between faith groups, stressing that no student should ever be pressured to change their beliefs.
His comments come after the Supreme Court directed Wesley Girls’ SHS to formally respond to a suit filed by private legal practitioner Shafic Osman, who alleges that the school restricts Muslim students from practising aspects of their faith.
The case has renewed national conversation about religious tolerance and the extent to which schools can or should accommodate diverse beliefs.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, November 29, Mr. Boamah-Nyarko warned that the public discourse risks creating a false impression of deep religious divisions in the country.
“We are not in crisis in terms of religious tolerance. When we overstretch on one or two of these matters, it creates unnecessary confusion as if there is a religious battle or matter between Christians and Muslims,” he said.
He further stressed that the core mandate of schools is academic development, not religious enforcement, and therefore no institution should adopt practices that compel students to abandon or modify their faith.
“Children are in school fundamentally to be trained academically. No school should put in place a mechanism to compel anybody to switch their faith,” he added.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 25, instructed Wesley Girls’ SHS to respond within 14 days to allegations that it prevents Muslim students from practising their religion—the central issue in the suit filed by Osman. The school is expected to clarify its religious policies and justify any restrictions placed on Muslim students, if such practices exist.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has reiterated that no student in Ghana should be barred from practising their chosen religion, insisting that the rights of all learners must be upheld regardless of their faith.
Source. Citi Newsroom
