The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has condemned the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, for cautioning schools against infringing on students’ rights to practice their religion.
The Minister has warned that no school should prevent any student from practicing their religion, stressing on the need to respect the rights of every Ghanaian student irrespective of faith.
Mr. Iddrisu, addressing Parliament on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, said the Ministry would not tolerate any infringement on students’ religious rights.
But the Conference believes the Minister’s comments were unnecessary, and risked resurrecting tensions that religious bodies have recently resolved.
The Minister’s comments follow concerns raised by legal practitioner Shafic Osman, who has filed a suit against Wesley Girls’ Senior High School over alleged human rights abuses against Muslim students. The Supreme Court has asked the school to respond to allegations that it restricts Muslim students from observing aspects of their faith.
Meanwhile, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, said all major religious groups—including Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, SDAs, and even the Police Service—signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) three months ago outlining how religious tolerance should be managed in schools.
“It is very unfortunate. We don’t know why the Minister has resurrected issues that have already been settled. Barely three months ago, all religious bodies signed an MoU on religious tolerance. The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service also signed, and this document was to guide the reopening of schools,” he said in an interview on Citi FM Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Most Rev. Gyamfi explained that the MoU requires schools established by religious bodies to operate based on their founding ethos, values, and philosophy, while ensuring that minority faiths are not discriminated against and are granted reasonable space to practise their religion.
“If parents choose a Catholic school, they must understand the ethos that governs that school. Catholics will not abandon their principles so that every religion is practised anyhow. Similarly, if a Catholic child goes to a Muslim or Presbyterian school, they must respect that school’s rules. Otherwise, schools become ungovernable,” he stated.
The man of God said he was surprised the Minister could go to Parliament to make such comments, saying he probably sought to awaken the already resolved conflict between different faiths.
“I am a little surprised he would go back to Parliament to make those statements. I don’t know what he was trying to achieve other than to awaken misunderstandings or religious conflict. Our politicians must be very careful not to use religion in ways that create problems for the country. We already have enough challenges,” he cautioned.
He maintained that the religious bodies remain committed to the MoU and don’t see the need to revisit an issue that has been settled already.
“For us, nothing is going to change. What we agreed upon is what will govern our schools. So why resurrect this issue?” he questioned.
The Bishops insist that the agreed framework already addresses all concerns and should guide stakeholders moving forward.
Meanwhile, the Conference had already, together with the Christian Council of Ghana, issued a statement to respond to the suit against Wesley Girls’ SHS.
