Christian Council, Catholic Bishops Reject Calls to ‘Secularise’ Mission Schools: “State Support Isn’t Ownership”

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) have firmly rejected renewed calls for mission schools to shed their Christian identity, insisting that government assistance does not give the state authority to alter the religious character of these institutions.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, the two bodies addressed ongoing national tensions over the rights of Muslim students in Christian schools—debates reignited by controversies like the Wesley Girls’ fasting dispute. The leaders argued that forcing Christian schools to accommodate non-Christian religious practices infringes on the Church’s constitutional rights and undermines the disciplinary structures that have long shaped these high-performing schools.

A Partnership, Not a Transfer of Ownership

Signed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Bliss Divine Agbeko (CCG) and Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi (GCBC), the statement emphasised that government support—such as paying salaries and regulating curricula—does not equal ownership or give the state the power to redefine the ethos of mission schools.

They maintained that Christian institutions existed long before the state stepped in to assist, and that the partnership should not be misconstrued as a takeover.
“State funding must never be misinterpreted as control,” the statement asserted.

The Constitutional Case: Institutions Have Rights Too

The church leaders argued that while individual students have religious freedom, institutions themselves also have constitutionally protected rights, including freedom of association. They insist that stripping Christian schools of their identity to accommodate all religions would violate the Church’s own freedoms.

They stressed that the Christian character of mission schools is integral to their mission, not an optional feature.

Practical and Administrative Challenges

The statement also warned of the operational difficulties that would arise if mission schools were required to adjust their environments to suit multiple religious traditions—such as providing prayer rooms, altering timetables, or revising uniforms.

They cautioned that accommodating separate religious practices would weaken the unified culture and discipline that define mission school life.

Enrollment Is a Choice

The GCBC and CCG argued that parents willingly choose Christian schools knowing their faith-based environment and academic record. It is therefore unreasonable, they said, for families to demand changes to the schools’ core identity when alternatives—public schools, Islamic schools, and secular private institutions—already exist.

Reference to the 2024 MoU

They cited a 2024 Memorandum of Understanding developed by COMEU and validated by the National Peace Council, which recognises the long-standing partnership between church and state and affirms that inclusiveness must operate within the existing framework of mission school traditions.

A Final Caution

The statement ended on a cautionary note: attempts to dilute or override the religious foundations of mission schools, they warned, could strain the Church’s wider partnership with the state—one that also includes major contributions to healthcare and social services.

They concluded that calls to secularise mission schools threaten the very mission on which these institutions were founded.