Must we have mission schools?

E. Ablorh-Odjidja

May 10, 2021

The hyped-up religious controversies between schools and students must stop.  The last one was between a Rasta student and the Achimota School.  And now there is this one between the Wesley Girls Senior High School and a few Muslim students.

Many think that these controversies are serious matters, based on their perspective.

They may be right.  Differences in perspective and the way the matter has been handled so far are the problems.  Occurrences of these will continue to harm the nation.  

Therefore, there is urgent need for the government to step in to erase the underlying misunderstandings that lead to the problems.

One side of the disagreement, as reported by Ghanaweb, has made it possible for the Ghana Muslim Mission to “admonish Muslims in Ghana to pray for peace... over the school’s (Wesley Girls) refusal to allow students to fast.”

The other side comes from Wesley Girls Senior High School, operated by the Methodist Church of Ghana; stating that students are not allowed to fast at that age for health reasons.

This difference in engagement is the nature of the misunderstanding that is rearing its ugly head and is likely to continue to haunt the nation for years to come.  

So, the need for a government policy to clarify things in the education system is high.

That policy must establish the role for all schools in the student's life.  Additionally, state clearly what other stakeholders in our society can expect from these schools, especially the mission ones where the potential for this type of belief confrontation can occur. 

Such policy must provide the guardrails; what to expect, obviously a purpose-driven good education from all schools, coupled with the infusion of good discipline in students.

It is not the law that is being challenged here since the schools are required to admit all, based on merit. 

But once on campus, it is the behavior of students that is in question. One would think that the wise choice should be to leave this decision in the hands of the school's administrators.

This way, the schools can be allowed to form their characters and traditions; to form a magnet, which ought to be the only sufficient reason why a new student might want to attend a particular school in the first place.

That achieved, the issue of tolerance for a particular school or belief system automatically becomes a settled concern, once the choice of school is made by the student or guardian. 

And hence, there will be no reason for a parent or a student to stalk a school, after having been admitted, to ask it to respect a tradition not practiced at that school.  There is no need to add more breaches within the nation’s education system.

If these episodes of clashes between different belief systems in our schools are allowed to continue, we will be heading towards one hell of trouble in the immediate years to come.

Notice that the trouble at Wesley Girls is not about the quality of education or discrimination in admission. 

It is about a practice that Wesley Girls says is ill-suited for the health of girls at that age, while the Muslim Mission says it is a step on their religion.

But notice how clumsily our society has handled the matter so far, almost to the point of setting the stage for future religious conflagrations.

The prominent perspective should have been on discipline and the lack thereof in our society.

Discipline is the foundation for all good institutions. Christians and Muslim schools alike should embrace it, especially in an environment like ours where it is available only in anemic portions.

Fortunately, outside the home, our mission schools are the only place left that we can hope to instill discipline.  But these are the same schools that differences in decorum are now allowed to grow religious conflicts.

Listening to the entire areas of our governance, one hears dead silence on the issue of discipline at the schools; instead, the religious concern has been highly touted. 

The Minority in Parliament has said that “the position of the Methodist Church Ghana on the Wesley Girls Senior High School’s decision to prevent Muslim students from fasting during the holy month of Ramadan smacks of discrimination based on religion.”

This statement, indeed, readies the fuse for the conflagration to come.

And the governing party seems to agree with the sentiment of the Minority in Parliament, judging by the statement from the Minister of Education.

Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, has asked for measures to be put in place …” to address the concerns of Muslim students.”

He seems to pay no attention to the discipline part, obviously for political reasons.

He continues by asking for parents of such students “to write to the school indicating that the school shall not be held liable for any health condition of the student as a result of the fast”.

It is reported that the National Chief Imam, after raising concerns, has welcomed the minister’s directive. 

Sadly, the requirement for discipline is not called.  Wesley Girls’ call for health reasons is missing and not reinforced by none of the messages above.  Instead, the attention has been settled on religious tolerance.

Again, discipline is what is very much needed in our society. 

A key indicator of discipline in a society is the ability of citizens to expect and respect order.  Discipline is the soft power that allows things to happen, and for society to grow to its full potential; even for religions like Christianity and Muslim to thrive. 

Without discipline, not much that is healthy can be expected from the rest of society.

That the Muslim Mission must admonish Ghanaians to pray for peace is a serious matter.  Maybe a warning? 

But seriously, how does one ask an undisciplined society to pray for peace; wait for the conflagration that may happen, or hurry to remove the excuse for that conflagration now?

This is why a clear message from the government is needed now, not later.  The government must not sit idle to see the mission schools become the conflagration points in our society.

The schools can then keep their standards; discipline restored, controversies about religious practices on campus minimized, and politics and religious frictions shoved out of the way.

How difficult will it be for a government to issue such a policy?

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher, www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, May 10, 2021.

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