The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) have jointly reaffirmed that Christian mission schools will maintain their long-established Christian identity despite growing national debate over whether non-Christian students, particularly Muslims, should be allowed to fully practise their faith within such schools.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, the two major Christian bodies stressed that their position is rooted in history, constitutional rights, and the original purpose for which mission schools were founded.
“Our position is not rooted in hostility towards other faiths, but in a desire to preserve the integrity of institutions we have built and nurtured for over a century, a mission that touches history, law, culture, educational philosophy, and the Church’s foundational role in Ghana.” The statement stated.
According to the statement, Christian mission schools were built, funded, and operated by the Churches long before the existence of the modern Ghanaian state. The Churches explained that the state’s later support such as paying teacher salaries did not amount to ownership or authority to redefine the schools’ religious character.
The GCBC and CCG argued that parents voluntarily choose mission schools because of their strong record in academic excellence, discipline, and moral formation, and are fully aware of the Christian values and worship practices that guide these institutions. They therefore described calls to alter the schools’ identity to accommodate separate religious practices as “unreasonable”.
“We acquired the land, built the schools, trained the teachers, and shaped the ethos long before the modern State of Ghana existed. When the government began assisting us, primarily by paying teacher salaries and regulating curricula, it joined an already functioning system.
“State support, therefore, is a partnership, not a takeover. The ownership and identity of these schools reside with us. Government assistance does not diminish this identity, nor does it confer the right to alter the core religious character that defines these institutions.”
The statement further warned that allowing parallel prayer systems, dress codes, or fasting schedules would undermine the communal discipline that has shaped the success of mission schools for generations. They noted that such adjustments would also create administrative challenges and fracture school unity.
Citing constitutional guarantees of freedom of association and religious liberty, the Christian leadership insisted that faith-based institutions have the right to operate schools that express their religious mission. Suppressing that identity, they said, would violate their constitutional freedoms.
The statement also referenced the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) adopted in April 2024, which reaffirmed the partnership between mission bodies and the state and recognised the missions’ historical role in Ghana’s educational system.
The GCBC and CCG maintained that Christian worship, formation, and values are central to their educational mission and cannot be treated as optional additions. Any attempt to secularise their environment, they said, would undermine the very foundation on which mission schools were established.
Despite their strong stance, the two bodies reiterated that mission schools continue to welcome students from all backgrounds and respect the rights of every learner. However, they stressed that such inclusion must not compromise the Christian ethos that has defined these schools for more than a century.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
