The Christian Council of Ghana has called for constitutional reforms that protect the religious identity of church-founded schools while safeguarding students’ freedom of religion amid growing debate over faith-based education and government support.
The Council presented its position at a forum organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs in Accra on 5 October. The meeting examined recommendations from Ghana’s Constitutional Review Committee concerning religious freedom and education.
The Most Rev. Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, immediate past presiding bishop of The Methodist Church Ghana, said the proposed reforms should protect students’ constitutional rights without undermining the religious character of mission schools, according to the Ghana News Agency.
Boafo pointed to Article 25 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which guarantees the right to education, and Article 21, which protects freedom of thought, conscience, belief and religion.
The Christian Council welcomed proposals to strengthen protections against religious discrimination in school admissions, boarding arrangements, discipline, student leadership and participation in school activities. However, it stressed that mission schools should retain the freedom to maintain their religious traditions, provided students’ constitutional rights are respected.
The debate comes amid renewed discussion about the role of churches in managing schools they established but which receive government funding.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, national chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress, has also called for greater church involvement in the management of mission schools. Speaking at the centenary celebration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sekyedumase on 3 October, he argued that religious bodies should retain a meaningful role in shaping the institutions they founded.
Nketiah said churches established schools partly to educate children in the beliefs and values of their faith. He argued that government financial support should not automatically prevent religious bodies from preserving their schools’ distinctive identity.
He also pointed to the strong performance of many mission schools, saying their achievements should be encouraged rather than weakened. Nketiah added that parents and students should understand a school’s disciplinary expectations when choosing where to study.
His comments have added to the national debate, although they do not constitute the government’s formal position on the proposed constitutional reforms.
The Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations seek to balance the religious identity of mission schools with the rights of students from different faith backgrounds. The proposals would allow schools to retain chaplaincies, religious symbols and their established ethos while ensuring that participation in worship and religious instruction remains voluntary.
They also recommend safeguards against religious discrimination in admissions, boarding arrangements, discipline and student leadership. The proposals envisage alternative arrangements for students who choose not to participate in worship, as well as mechanisms for addressing complaints and preventing religious coercion.
Some church leaders have expressed concern that restrictions on established religious practices could weaken the spiritual and moral foundations of mission education.
In a joint statement issued in November 2025, the Christian Council and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference argued that the churches’ historic contribution to education should be recognised alongside students’ constitutional rights. They maintained that government assistance does not automatically transfer ownership or religious identity from churches to the state.
The debate has also involved Muslim students and families who have raised concerns about restrictions on Islamic practices in some Christian mission schools, including fasting and prayer. These issues have featured in the legal dispute involving Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
The competing concerns have highlighted the challenge of protecting religious diversity while allowing schools founded on particular faith traditions to maintain their identity, especially when they receive public funding.
Ghana has already taken steps to promote religious tolerance in education. In September 2025, the National Peace Council launched a memorandum of understanding intended to guide religious relations in government-assisted and private mission schools.
The framework aims to improve understanding between schools and students from different religious backgrounds and encourage peaceful coexistence.
In February 2026, an education director also called for stronger religious tolerance in schools during a workshop to raise awareness of the agreement, according to the Ghana News Agency.
The latest appeal from the Christian Council has renewed questions about whether existing guidelines are sufficient or whether further constitutional and legal protections are needed to clarify the relationship between religious freedom, public funding and the independence of mission schools.
The recommendations form part of a wider review of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution. The government presented its position on the proposals in July 2026 and subsequently established a Constitution Review Implementation Committee to examine the recommendations and develop a framework for implementation.
Based on reporting by Christian Daily International.
