Wesley Girls-Muslim Students Case: Full details of the lawsuit shaking Ghana's education system

The hot debate currently dominating the mainstream media in Ghana is the issue of religious freedom in Ghana’s Senior High Schools (SHSs).

The debate was resurrected after the Office of the Attorney General filed a formal response to a Supreme Court suit where Wesley Girls' Senior High, one of the top SHSs in Ghana, was accused of discriminatory religious policies.

The suit was filed on December 24, 2024, by private legal practitioner Shafic Osman under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, invoking Articles 2(1)(b) and 130(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution.

It centres on allegations that Muslim students are barred from wearing the hijab, fasting during Ramadan, and observing other Islamic rites, and forced to partake in practices of the Methodist Church, which established the school. He argued that actions the plaintiff says violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion.

In his response, the Attorney General dismissed claims that the school is acting unlawfully, insisting that Wesley Girls' SHS, founded and operated by the Methodist Church of Ghana, is permitted to enforce rules consistent with its Methodist principles, arguing that the school's faith-based identity grants it the authority to establish standards on religious conduct within the school environment, even where such standards limit the expression of other religious practices.

The AG’s defence divided the public, with a number of legal luminaries including Prof Kwaku Asare (Azar) arguing in favour of the plaintiff, which has forced the Christian Council of Ghana and Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference to also issue a statement defending Wesley Girls.

GhanaWeb has now sighted the writ filed by the plaintiff at the Supreme Court, which details the reliefs he was seeking from the court and the crime he is accusing the school of.

The private legal practitioner accused the school of compelling students to practise a compulsory school religion in a public institution, which contravenes Articles 21(1)(b), (c), and 26 of the 1992 Constitution. He further contends that the restrictions conflict with international human rights standards recognised under Article 33(5).

Catholic Bishops, Christian Council wade into Wesley Girls Muslims' rights debate

Below are the exact reliefs below:

A declaration that the 1st Defendant's policy prohibiting the belief, practice, and observance of Islam by Muslim students on its campus is contrary to and inconsistent with Articles 12, 17(1) and (2), 21(1)(b), (c), (e), and 26 of the 1992 Constitution and international human rights cognisable under Article 33(5) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.

A declaration that the 1st Defendant's policy compelling and requiring the practice of a compulsory school religion in a public school is contrary to and inconsistent with Articles 21(1)(b), (c), and Article 26.

A declaration that the 1st Defendant's policy prohibiting Muslim students from exercising their religious rights is unlawfully discriminatory and a violation of Article 17(2) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.

A declaration that the limitations on Muslim students in the 1st Defendant school undermine the welfare of Muslim students under international human rights of the child cognisable under Article 33(5) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.

A declaration that the 1st Defendant's policy compelling the practice of Methodism by all students is an establishment of religion in violation of Article 21(1)(c) and Article 56 of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.

A declaration that by allowing the 1st Defendant's policy of compelling the practice of Methodism by all students, the 2nd Defendant has unlawfully allowed the imposition of a common religious programme in violation of Article 56 of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.

An order perpetually restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants, with immediate effect, from further administering the impugned policy in the 1st Defendant school or similar policies in any other school.

An order directing the 2nd Defendant to enact constitutionally compliant guidelines for the regulation of religious practice and observance for all public schools in Ghana.

Any other order(s) that this honourable court may deem fit.

Read the full court document below:

BAI

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