The Zongo Institute for Development (ZID) has called on the government to immediately withdraw support for policies that enforce religious conformity in public schools.
In a statement, ZID described the Attorney General’s defense of mandatory Christian practices in schools as “deeply alarming and fundamentally inconsistent with the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana.”
The statement was issued in response to the Supreme Court case Shafic Osman v. Wesley Girls’ High School & Others, which challenges allegations that Muslim students are forced to attend Christian services and are denied the right to observe their religious obligations, including fasting during Ramadan.
ZID emphasized that public schools must uphold constitutional protections, citing Article 21(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
“Forced participation in any mandatory religious program is a direct attack on this freedom,” the group said, referring to the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief.
The organization further noted that denying Muslim students the ability to perform prayers or fast during Ramadan violates their constitutional rights to manifest religion and freedom of assembly.
ZID warned that government-supported schools should remain secular, stating, “The mandate of public education is to foster academic excellence in an inclusive and constitutionally compliant environment, not to serve as a conduit for forced conversions or discrimination.”
