Former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Charles Aheto-Tsegah, has clarified how Ghana’s Senior High School (SHS) system manages religious expression, explaining that the rules differ significantly between public, non-denominational schools and mission schools.
According to him, SHSs in Ghana fall into two broad categories. The first group, non-denominational schools, are fully public institutions and therefore do not permit the establishment of any religious structures on campus. “In non-denominational schools, there would not be any structure representing any mission or faith. We do not have a church, mosque, shrine anywhere because of the status of the school,” he explained.
The second category consists of mission schools such as Wesley Girls’ High School, which operate in partnership with the government. Dr. Aheto-Tsegah noted that these schools are permitted to build churches on their campuses as part of their founding traditions. However, this also means they are not obliged to create parallel spaces for other religious groups. “In mission schools, their partnership with the government gives them the chance to build their churches in the school, so they would not create an opportunity for a mosque or shrine in their religious space,” he said.
He added that groups such as the Scripture Union (SU) operate in both mission and non-denominational schools, providing avenues for Christian worship. However, the presence and influence of other religious groups tend to be limited in non-denominational schools due to space and policy constraints.
Dr. Aheto-Tsegah believes this long-standing framework raises important questions about religious freedom, inclusivity, and the balance between tradition and constitutional rights, issues that have resurfaced as the Supreme Court considers the ongoing case involving the rights of Muslim students in mission schools.
