The National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has joined calls by the Christian Council for the State to give churches greater say in the management of mission schools.
Speaking at the official launch of a multi-million-cedi College of Education project to mark the centenary celebration of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church at Sekyedumase, Mr. Nketiah said such a move would encourage churches to invest more in the nation’s education sector.
“The main driving force for religious bodies to invest in the building of schools is the need for their members to bring up their children in the core beliefs and discipline of their faith,” Mr. Nketiah argued.
He said the argument that because state funds are invested in these schools, the churches that founded them must be stripped of all rights to teach the basic tenets of their religion is flawed, because the parents of the children in those schools are also taxpayers.
“The missions were the pioneers of education in the Gold Coast and continue to play a key role in the sector to date. The fact that most of the so-called Grade ‘A’ schools are mission schools implies that there is something they are doing right which must be encouraged rather than diluted,” Mr. Nketiah added.
“Parents and their wards are free to exercise their rights of choice at the point of application for admission. Once admitted to their choice of school, they have already committed to the disciplinary code of the school,” he concluded.
*Background*
The management of mission schools has been a recurring national debate in Ghana. Under the current partnership, government pays teachers and provides infrastructure, while the missions retain founding interest and serve as managers with oversight on discipline and religious ethos.
In recent years, tensions have arisen over religious practices, dress codes and worship in mission schools, with critics arguing that public funding should mean secular management. Faith-based organisations, including the Christian Council of Ghana, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the SDA Church, have however insisted that mission schools were established to provide both academic and moral formation anchored in their faith values.
The SDA Church used its 100th anniversary celebration at Sekyedumase on October 3, 2026 to announce plans for a new College of Education, in line with its long history of investment in education. The church currently runs hundreds of basic and second-cycle schools and several tertiary institutions across Ghana.
Mr. Nketiah’s endorsement aligns with the NDC government’s stated policy of strengthening collaboration with faith-based organisations in education delivery, a position also supported by many traditional authorities and parents’ groups.
