Former CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, has urged stakeholders to adopt a balanced approach to the ongoing dispute over Muslim students’ religious rights at Wesley Girls’ High School.
He stressed that mission schools retain a legitimate claim to their historical identity, even though they are now publicly funded.
“We cannot take the mission factor out of the equation,” he said on Good Morning Ghana, which was monitored by MyNewsGh, arguing that Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic institutions continue to contribute infrastructure and maintain standards that shape discipline and academic excellence.
He warned that stripping mission schools of their long-standing practices could weaken the ethos that has produced strong results over decades.
“Because government is necessarily funding these schools, we should not take out their doctrines and their moral standards,” he said. “We may lower standards in these schools when it comes to academic and disciplinary performance.”
Nkansah insisted that mission-aligned practices such as compulsory monthly services must remain intact for all students who choose to attend such schools.
“Once you agree to attend the Methodist school, you should agree and be aligned to attend all their compulsory services,” he said.
However, he emphasised that mission identity must not become grounds to suppress students’ constitutional liberties.
“That is not to say we should allow them to also deny the rights of students practicing their faith,” he added.
