Christian mission schools in Ghana say that the ongoing debate over religious expression in state-assisted schools overlooks a key reality: parents voluntarily choose these institutions precisely because of their Christian-based discipline, moral formation, and academic reputation.
In a joint statement issued on November 25, 2025, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) stressed that mission schools do not impose themselves on the public, noting that families make informed decisions when applying to the institutions.
“No student is compelled to attend a Christian mission school,” the statement said, adding that parents are fully aware of the schools’ Christian worldview, shared worship, and values-based education.
The Church leaders argued that the current push for separate religious practices for non-Christian students risks disregarding the very reasons many families prefer mission schools in the first place.
They noted that parents often choose these schools because of their cohesive culture, discipline, and consistent standards.
According to the statement, permitting multiple prayer systems, alternative dress codes, or separate worship arrangements could alter the environment that parents intentionally select for their children.
Allowing parallel religious systems, they warned, would “fracture the communal unity and discipline that underpin our school’s ethos.”
The leaders emphasized that Ghana’s educational landscape is diverse, offering public, private, and Islamic schools, ensuring that families have many options.
Mission schools, they said, should be allowed to maintain the identity that has made them attractive to parents for decades.
They reiterated that defending the Christian character of mission schools is not an act of exclusion, but a way of preserving the qualities that parents actively seek.
“Parents choose our institutions freely… They are aware from the outset that our schools operate within a Christian worldview.”
The statement concluded that parental choice remains a cornerstone of the mission school system, and any move to alter the schools’ character could undermine the trust and expectations families place in them.
By Theresa Kpordzo//Newswatchgh.com
