CHILD Rights International (CRI) is urging the government to adopt a firm and comprehensive national policy to safeguard the religious rights of students in secondary schools, insisting that no child should be denied education or the freedom to express their faith.

In a statement issued on Thursday in Accra, the organisation said the recent controversy involving Wesley Girls’ Senior High School highlights deep-seated gaps in how children’s rights were upheld within the country’s long-standing educational structures.

According to CRI, the incident underscores the need for Ghana to reassess the relationship between school traditions and the constitutional rights of students.

The group emphasised that the right to education and the right to religious expression were fundamental, and must be reflected consistently in rules and practices across all schools.

Additionally, CRI noted that many well-known mission institutions such as Holy Child School and St. Louis Senior High School operate on religious foundations that have shaped their administrative cultures for decades.

These differ significantly from state-established schools like Ghana Senior High School in Koforidua, Tamale Senior High School and Achimota Senior High School.

This contrast, CRI argued, raises an important national question and what policy framework has guided these mission schools since their incorporation into the public system?

Although the government has declared all such schools secular, they continue to function as government-assisted institutions, maintaining a hybrid structure that leaves them neither fully autonomous nor entirely under the Ghana Education Service (GES).

This unclear arrangement has led to inconsistent rules on discipline, conduct and religious expression from one school to another.

CRI warned that the absence of a unified and enforceable national policy leaves significant gaps in the protection of children’s rights.

While rights may be universal, the group emphasised that their protection depends on strong and clearly defined state regulations.

The organisation further stated that the State has yet to assume full regulatory authority over the schools it supports financially. As a result, key administrative and disciplinary decisions often remain at the discretion of individual school authorities, creating uneven standards nationwide.

For the rights of children, particularly their right to practise their religion to be fully realised, CRI believes the government must move toward full regulatory ownership of all schools it funds or classifies as public.

Without this, tensions between deeply rooted school traditions and constitutional freedoms are likely to persist.

The statement stressed that once a school admits a student, it takes responsibility not only for their academic development but also for respecting their identity, including their religious background. Therefore, no child, CRI insists, should be prevented from practicing their faith within the school environment.

Moreover, the organisation called for the establishment of clear national standards that guide schools on accommodating religious expression without compromising discipline or institutional order.

It also urged the government to strengthen safeguarding systems with firm oversight and routine monitoring to ensure that children’s rights are protected based on national law, not historical customs or administrative discretion.

CRI admonished the government to clarify the official status of government-assisted mission schools to ensure that the rights of all students are upheld consistently across the country.

By Spectator Reporter

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