For years, the debate surrounding Wesley Girls High School and the rights of Muslim students has simmered quietly beneath Ghana’s public discourse. Today, it can no longer be ignored. What is happening at Wesley Girls is not simply a matter of “school rules” or “institutional tradition.” It is a deeper, more troubling issue that borders on religious discrimination and, in plain terms, an educational form of apartheid.
Muslims in Ghana have never demanded that Wesley Girls become an Islamic school. They have never insisted that the school abandon its Christian foundation or Methodist heritage. What Muslim students and parents have consistently asked for is simple and constitutional: allow Muslim girls to practice the basic elements of their faith without being penalised or silenced.
Yet Wesley Girls remains firmly resistant, insisting on rules that deliberately restrict Muslim girls from fasting, freely praying, and practising essential parts of Islam. These are not matters of convenience. They are obligations of faith.
This is what makes the issue so painful. The Core Problem: It Is Not About Discipline, It Is About Targeted Exclusion
Muslim parents are not rejecting discipline. They are not encouraging rebellion. They are not demanding special treatment.
They are insisting on the right of their daughters to practice their religion, a right enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which guarantees freedom of religion and protects every citizen from religious discrimination.
The argument that “it is a Christian school” does not override the Constitution. Ghana’s laws do not allow any educational institution, mission-based or public, to suppress a student’s religious obligations.
When Wesley Girls restricts only Muslim practices while leaving Christian activities untouched, that is institutionalised segregation. That is discriminatory. And yes, that is apartheid, because it creates two classes of students: those free to practice their faith and those who are not.
Taxpayer Funding: A Public School Cannot Practice Religious Exclusion
Wesley Girls is not a private Christian school owned and operated by the Methodist Church alone.
It is a public school funded by the taxes of all Ghanaians, and this includes Muslim taxpayers.
Muslim parents contribute to: Teacher salaries, Utility bills, Feeding grants, Infrastructure development and Government subventions.
Therefore, the idea that a publicly funded institution can use Christian rules to silence Muslim religious practice is not only unjust, but it is also constitutionally baseless.
Public funds must guarantee public fairness. Dr Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Saana’s Position: A Call for Justice, Dialogue, and Reform.
Dr Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Saana, a respected Islamic scholar and public health expert, has spoken extensively on this issue not with hostility, but with deep intellectual clarity. He has engaged pastors, Christian leaders, and fellow citizens, emphasising that Muslim children are not asking for privilege, but for their rightful place within Ghana’s educational space.
He has pointed out clearly that religious coexistence does not mean one faith suppresses another. It means mutual respect. It means allowing every Ghanaian child to uphold their God-given identity.
A National Wake-Up Call
This issue goes beyond Wesley Girls.
It forces Ghana to confront a bigger question:
Can a publicly funded institution continue to suppress the religious expression of a minority group under the guise of “tradition”?
The answer, legally, morally, and logically, is no.
Schools cannot claim excellence while practising exclusion. They cannot preach discipline while enforcing discrimination. And they cannot use public money to maintain structures that undermine constitutional rights.
The Way Forward
A modern, democratic, religiously diverse Ghana demands policies that uphold the dignity of every child. The solution is simple:
Allow Muslim girls to fast with parental and medical support. Provide a supervised space for prayers, as done in other top schools. Review outdated internal rules that contradict national law. Encourage respectful dialogue between religious leaders and school authorities. This is not about destroying the Methodist identity of the school. It is about aligning the school with the values of the Republic.
In Conclusion
Wesley Girls’ High School is a respected institution. But respect cannot shield it from accountability. No Ghanaian child should have to choose between education and faith, especially in a nation that prides itself on peace, tolerance, and unity. It is time for every public school, especially those with mission backgrounds, to rise above silent segregation and embrace genuine equality.
Anything less is not discipline. It is apartheid in uniform.
Signed,
Dr Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Saana,
Member Health Advisory Committee – NDC
Member Religious Committee – NDC
Greater Accra Regional Director of Health – NDC
Wednesday, 26th November,
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