Lawyer and Democracy and Development Fellow in Public Law and Justice at CDD-Ghana, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has challenged the Attorney General’s defence of Wesley Girls’ Senior High School (SHS) over claims that Muslim students are being restricted from practicing their faith in school.

The Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, recently filed a formal response to a Supreme Court lawsuit, arguing that Wesley Girls, operated under the Methodist Church of Ghana, retained the right to enforce rules aligned with its denominational heritage.

In a Facebook post, Professor Asare rejected this reasoning, asserting that Wesley Girls was no longer a private Methodist institution but a fully public school under the Government of Ghana.

“Once a school becomes public, the Constitution takes the front seat, not denominational tradition,” he said.

He warned that public schools could not privilege one religion over others, suppress minority faiths, or impose rules rooted in a particular religious doctrine on students who do not share that faith.

He referenced constitutional protections, noting that such practices would contravene Articles 17 (non-discrimination), 21(1)(c) (freedom of religion), and 12 (rights guaranteed to all persons).

Professor Asare emphasised that Ghana’s mission schools achieved excellence not by suppressing diversity, but by upholding discipline, promoting academic excellence, and respecting every child who walked through their gates.

“So if we want to invoke ‘tradition,’ let’s invoke the traditions of tolerance, dignity, and of allowing every student — Christian, Muslim, traditionalist, or none — to feel safe and valued,” he wrote.