Freedom of Religion in the Light of Educational Rights in Ghana: The Case of the Muslim Student

“…A nation that stands by and looks on while the rights of the individual are slowly pecked at, eventually pays the ultimate price of finding its own rights eroded” (F. Y Kpegah, Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana)

The notion of freedom has been with man for as long as human societies have existed and will continue to be a case for conflicts if the fundamental issues underpinning these conflicts are not resolved. Freedom (whether political, economic or religious) has been the sole reason for many wars fought across the globe and as far as the urge for freedom is concern, civilization has not succeeded in changing man very much.

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines ‘freedom’ as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants”. The same dictionary defines ‘religion’ as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”. A “right” according to Black’s Law Dictionary (9th edition) is a “legal enforceable claim that another will do or will not do a given act; a recognised and protected interest the violation of which is a wrong” and as Jeremy Bentham puts it, a right “is the child of the law”. It is generally considered that the right to belief in a religion or faith although absolute may be subject to certain limitations in the interest of national security, public order, public morality or health, among others, but must be prescribed by law. The fact that education is a right and not a privilege speaks volumes of the priority that nations including Ghana place on equal access to education for all persons in irrespective of one’s religious beliefs or creed. Thus, the rights to freedom of religion and education are fundamental human rights which are inviolable in both municipal and international law.

Freedom of religion is a complex issue and requires delicate balance since it protects the rights to freedom of conscience of both believers and non-believers and those whose religious beliefs differ from the belief which are being observed in schools or by the majority. Thus the right to freedom of religion as provided in many constitutions of countries across the world includes freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of your choice and freedom, either individually or in a group with others and in public or private and to manifest such religion or belief.

This article primarily focuses on the portentous issue of the alleged incidences of the violations of Muslim students’ right to freedom of religion in educational institutions in Ghana and proffer recommendations on the way forward.

Plight of Muslim Students and Other Minorities in Schools

The practice of Muslim students and other non-Christians being forced to attend church services and other religious worships against their will and belief has been perpetuated and perpetrated in most first and second cycle schools (whether mission or not) and some tertiary institutions in Ghana since the era of colonialism. Muslims students in many Junior High Schools (JHS), Senior High Schools (SHS) and even tertiary institutions are reportedly compelled to attend Sunday church services, morning and evening devotions, Wednesday worships and mass in schools like Labone, Apam, Enyan Denkyira, Wesley Girls and Holy Child SHSs, among many others. These acts blatantly contravenes article 21(1) (b) (c) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which unequivocally stipulates that: “All person shall have the right to-freedom of thought, conscience and belief…” and “freedom to practise any religion and to manifest such practice” (Emphasis mine). Additionally, articles 18 and 8 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (both of which Ghana is a signatory to) respectively reiterates the positions that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion… to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” and “Freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion shall be guaranteed. No one may, subject to law and order, be submitted to measures restricting the exercise of these freedoms”. Hence, it is unacceptable for any person or institution to coerce a student to attend any religious gathering or congregation against his/her beliefs or choice.

In addition to this, Muslim students in some boarding schools like Wesley Girls Senior High Schools in Cape Coast and Kumasi, among others are allegedly prevented from performing their five compulsory daily prayers even outside teaching hours. This is a gross violation of their right to practice and manifest their religious beliefs and a sheer discrimination in violation of articles 21(1) (b) (c) and 17 (2) of the Constitution (supra) as their Christian colleagues are permitted to observe their Sunday services, among other worships. Per article 26 (l ) of the Constitution, “Every person is entitled to enjoy, practise, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the provisions of this Constitution.” The right to practice a religion according to the UDHR includes “to worship or assemble in connexion with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain places for these purposes.” It has been held in the Kenyan case of Adventist Church v Ministry of Education [2017] e KLR that freedom of religion includes both the right to have religious belief and the right to express such belief in practice. Again, in the case of the Association of Solidarity with Jehovah Witness and others v Turkey, the European Court on Human Rights in May 2016 held that the Mersin and İzmir Jehovah’s Witnesses were unable to obtain an appropriate place in which to worship on a regular basis, which amounted to a direct interference with their freedom of religion.  The court added that given the small number of their adherents, the congregations in question needed not a building with a specific architectural design but a simple meeting room in which to worship, meet and teach their beliefs.

Also, female Muslim students in most pre-tertiary institutions (both public and private) and some tertiary institutions like Pantang Nursing Training College are allegedly prevented from wearing  their head scarves or veils (loosely termed “hijab”) while in school as a manifestation of their religious belief. This is also in contravention to the directives issued by the former Minister of Communications, Hon. Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, on Friday 20th February, 2015 and subsequently by the former President John Mahama in 2015 directing the Ghana Education Services (GES) and heads of institutions to desist from such acts. The former President during his State of Nations Address (SONA) in 2015 said that:

“It is wrong under our constitution for Muslim students to be compelled to attend church services or for Christian students to be compelled to attend Muslim congregational prayers. It is also wrong to prevent Muslim women from wearing the ‘hijab’ or Nuns from wearing their habits to work or to school. Heads of institution must note this for strict compliance.”

These directives came against a backdrop of series of demonstrations by a section of the Muslim populace in the Western Region and other parts of the country on the issues of discrimination and ill-treatments being meted out to some Muslim students by being compelled to attend church services and the denial of female Muslims from putting on their hijab in school. However, the former President’s directive was met with vehement opposition by the Christian Council of Ghana, Pentecostal Council of Ghana, Catholic Bishops Conference and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in outright disregard and disrespect for the rights of Muslim students in these schools which are guaranteed under the laws of Ghana. The opponents of the directive argued inter alia that students, including Muslims, who go to Christian schools are aware of the school’s practices, accept the conditions before they are admitted and as a result, have no grounds for complaint. Thus they should “go somewhere else” if they don’t want to conform to the schools rules. And in the latest controversy regarding the denial of enrollment to two Rastafari boys to Achimota School because they have refused to cut down their dreadlocks, the president of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu commented that the Rastafarians should go and build their own schools.

These kinds of arguments or statements from the heads of the mission schools and NAGRAT are unaccommodating, unfortunate and above all irresponsible and the least said of them the better. In the first place, these so-called mission schools were mostly set up by the British colonial masters (accompanied by their Christian missionaries) with state funds to provide accessible education for the people of Gold Coast alongside for the proselytization of their faith. This situation, unfortunately, gave rise to the perception during that epoch that secular education was Christian education and for that matter Muslim parents did not allow their children to go to school. Fast forward, these schools have come to be known as “government assisted schools” because they are fully funded by the Ghanaian tax payer which include Muslims, Traditionalists, among others.  Abdul Rahim Gbadamosi, former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, in his book titled: “Events in My Life”, asserted that: “The units [i.e. the various Christian Education Units] were responsible for appointing the heads and other staff of their schools, who were all paid by the Government. The staff of the units, some of whom were missionaries were also paid by government.”(Emphasis mine). Furthermore, such statements by the school authorities impugn article 17(2) of the Constitution (supra) which states that: “A person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status.”

These violations of religious rights continues unabated and with impunity in spite of the fact the National Peace Council in a communiqué issued after a National Stakeholders Conference on Religious Tolerance held in March 2015 directed public schools in the country not to compel students of a different religion to attend devotion or participate in any act of worship without their consent. The Council stated that:

“Taking into consideration the provisions of the constitution on human rights, no public school shall require students who are followers of a different religion to participate in acts of worship, devotion or fellowship without their concerns or the concern of their parents; this is without prejudice to the general assembly which precede daily school activity.”

Prior to the directive by the National Peace Council, as far back as in the late 1990s the then Deputy Minister of Education, In- Charge of Secondary Schools, Hon Kwabena Kyere issued a directive to all second cycle institutions in Ghana not to compel Muslim students to attend church services and other religious instructions contrary to their beliefs after the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat of the Ghana Muslims Students Association (GMSA) had petitioned the Ministry of Education on the subject-matter. Sadly, most of the schools did not heed to this directive.

Again, some Muslim students in boarding schools are not allowed to fast during the month of Ramadan and in other schools where they are allowed to fast, there is no food reserve for them to begin or break their fast although their school fees caters for their feeding. The justification for these restrictions has been that the attendance of dinning by students is compulsory as stated in the rules of the schools therefore binding on all students irrespective of their religious affiliation. The justification of  this practice is untenable since education is not supposed to be a hindrance to ones freedom to practice his or her religion in school and moreover special dietary arrangements are made for vegetarians who some for religious reasons do not eat meat or meat products in such boarding schools.

Furthermore, some Muslim students have reported that they are denied the right to freedom of associations such as the formation GMSA in schools like Wesley Girls’ SHS contrary to article 21 (1)(e) of the Constitution: “All person shall have the right to- freedom of association, which shall include freedom to form or join trade unions or other associations.” Therefore, the right to freedom of religion also includes the right of individuals to associate with others and to assert their religious freedom with others, whether in public or private.

On the other hand, there have also been concerns of some Islamic schools such as the Ghana Lebanon Secondary School (GLISS) and other tertiary institutions like the Islamic University College of Ghana that make it mandatory for every female student to wear a veil on campus as part of the school rules regardless of their religious inclination. This too should be strongly condemned as the Quran specifically in chapter 2 verse 256 states that: “There shall be no compulsion in religion”. The fact that these schools are even private Islamic schools and not funded by the State does not grant them such powers to compel non-Muslims who do not wish to wear the veil. Muslims have been admonished by the Prophet Muhammed (peace be unto him) that “none of you truly believes until he loves for his neighbour what he loves for himself.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 13). Therefore, Muslims are expected as a religious duty not to do unto others as they wish not to be than unto them because he who calls for equity must come with clean hands.

The Tragic Death of Abdul Gafaru and Matters Arising

Ghanaians woke up one early Monday morning to hear or read about the tragic death of a final year student of Adisadel College, Cape Coast, the late Mustapha Abdul Gafaru, which occurred on Sunday 16th March 2008, when he purportedly fell from the fourth floor of a story building as he and others were chased by the senior house master then, Mr. Joseph Opare, for not attending Sunday church service on that day. The deceased student (May Allah grant him the highest of paradise) had to pay the price for our society’s oppressive system of working to control and dominate others in the name of education and religion. In response to this, the Coalition of Muslim Organizations-Ghana (COMOG) together with GMSA, Ghana Muslim Academy now Ghana Academy of Muslim Professionals (GAMP) and other Muslims groups called on the Minister of Education, Science and Sport then, Hon. Prof. Dominic Fobih, to institute a full scale enquiry into the cause of the unfortunate incident and other related issues regarding the infringement of the rights of Muslim students in schools. To the shock of many Muslims and the public, the committee’s findings, recommendations and conclusions submitted on the 13th June, 2008 did nothing to resolve the core issues of violations of the rights of Muslim students and others to freedom of religion but rather sought to maintain the status quo in order to protect the school authorities even after a subsequent petition from the Office of the National Chief Imam in 2008 on the same issue.

Subsequently, on the 15th of March 2009, the Greater Accra GMSA launched and held its maiden Abdul Gafaru Memorial Lectures to serve as a platform for educating Muslim students and the youth on their rights and duties as citizens of Ghana and how to seek redress when such rights especially religious rights are trampled upon. It also provided an avenue for dialogue among key stakeholders such as the GES, Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), etc. on how to find a lasting solution to this canker. Again, GMSA embarked on a peaceful demonstration to the Office of the President at the Osu Castle on the 16th March 2009 and presented a petition to the then President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory, which was received by the Deputy Chief of Staff then, Mr. Alex Segbefia but nothing tangible was done to resolve the issues stated therein.

More so, on the 7th March, 2012  a delegation of Muslim organizations led by the Federation of Muslim Councils and representatives of the Office of the National Chief Imam, Ghana Muslim Mission, COMOG, Network of Muslim Youth Organizations-Ghana (NEMYOG)  and GMSA held a meeting with the Minister of Education then, Hon. Lee Ocran at the Ministry to lodge a complaint to the Minister on the violations of rights of Muslim students in Ghana, which till date there has not been any concrete solution to address this time bomb and age-old albatross hanging on our necks.

The NEMYOG in August 2015 filed a petition at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) with a list of all schools throughout the country reported for the violation of the religious rights of Muslims students. The NEMYOG demanded a nationwide investigations into the matter to find a lasting solution to these unpardonable situations in order not to derail the long lasting peaceful coexistence among all religious faiths in Ghana. The CHRAJ after several follow ups by the leaders of NEMYOG kept given excuses of lack of funding among other flimsy reasons for their inability to commence a full scale investigations into the matter.

Last but not the least, a private citizen, Gershon Nii Lamptey, in 2015 filed a petition at the Supreme Court for  a declaration, inter alia, whether private, public or state-sponsored schools (except religious schools set up primarily  to train students as ministers of particular religions) have an obligation to recognize, respect  and give effect to the right of freedom of conscience, belief and religion guaranteed under  article 21(1)(b)(c)  of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana by not forcing students of other faiths to attend or participate in partisan and sectional religious activities such as Sunday Worship or Morning Devotion, against their will and/or the tenets of their faiths. Nonetheless, this case is still pending before the Supreme Court till further notice.

The Case of the Rastafari Students at Achimota School

It is an indubitable fact that Rastafari or Rastafarianism is a religion since it constitute “a unified system of beliefs and practices” (Midas H. Chawane, “The Rastafarian Movement in South Africa: a Religion or Way of Life?” in the Journal for the Study of Religion, Vol. 27, No. 2, Pretoria, 2014). The brouhaha over the two Rastafari students in Ghana namely: Ras Asward Nkrabea and Tyron Iras Marguay, denied enrollment into Achimota School for wearing dreadlocks and the subsequent directives from the GES to admit and later not to admit the students has brought the larger issue of alleged religious intolerance of minorities in our educational institutions of learning to the fore. The thorny issue of whether or not Achimota School or the GES was right to ask the two Rastafari students to cut their dreadlocks before being enrolled into the school or the students have the right to keep their dreadlocks as of rights to religion and education would hopefully be settled sooner than later by the High Court in the suit filed by the parents of the two said students. In a related case elsewhere, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe in Re Chickweche 1995 (4) SA 284 (ZC) held inter alia that wearing of dreadlocks was a manifestation of the Rastafarian religion and had to be accepted. It further held that keeping rastas or dreadlocks is the child’s outward manifestation of her religious beliefs and forcing the child to cut the hair is contrary to those beliefs. Therefore, to the extent that school rules have been applied in a manner that denies the right of the child to access education unless the child cuts her rastas violates the essence of the right to freedom of religion and education because these rights are guaranteed under the constitution as held in the Kenyan case of JWM (alia P) v Board of Management of High School, Ministry of Education and Attorney- General (Petition No. 10 of 2019). However, Ghanaian courts are not bound by the ratio decidendi of other common law jurisdictions but can be applied as a matter of persuasion.  And as Chief Justice Hughes of the United States once said: “We live under a constitution. But the constitution is what the judges say”.

Religious Freedom vrs. School Rules and the Floodgates Arguments

History is replete with examples of laws which constrained individual religious freedom under the pretext of enforcing rules and regulations of organizations while administered discriminatory. To begin with, article 1 (2) of the 1992 Constitution provides that the Constitution shall be the supreme law of Ghana and that any other law found to be inconsistent of any provision of the Constitution shall to the extent of the inconsistency be null and void.  Moreover, several decided cases in other common law jurisdictions have upheld the fact that religious tolerance and freedom should not be arbitrary applied to suppress pupils or persons of other religious adherents who do not belong to the predominant religions. For instance, as held in the Kenyan JWM case (supra) that school rules and regulations although necessary for proper governing of the conduct and discipline of students, must be applied in a manner that does not infringe on rights guaranteed by the constitution. That schools rules and regulations are intended to regulate and guide students’ conduct and discipline for their wellbeing and proper management of the school but not to punish them. The rules should, therefore, not undermine substantive constitutional rights and should be subordinate to the constitution.  They should not be applied so as to override constitutional provisions but should rather augment those provisions. And that school rules must appreciate genuinely held religious beliefs of students and should not be applied as though they are superior to the text of the Constitution. Thus they should not be an obstacle to full realization and enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. The court concluded that a  constitution is not only designed to protect majorities who are usually able to protect themselves, but to preserve and protect the rights of individuals from the arbitrary actions of those in authority.

Additionally, the proposition that tolerating the religious rights of others especially minorities in schools will open the floodgates for all manner of demands in the name of religious freedom as argued by others need to be examined dispassionately. Prof. S.K. Date-Bah, a Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a revered academic in an article titled: “Religion, Human Rights and Democracy in the Ghanaian Context” posited that it would be illegitimate for the State to assert that “not all religions should be allowed to exist because some religions are not religions at all”. And that all persons within the Ghanaian jurisdiction are free to practise any religion and to manifest it, so long as they respect the rights and freedoms of others and the public interest. According to Prof Date-Bah, the Christian faith has probably been favoured in most State schools and the educational authorities need to work towards achieving more equality in opportunity for other faiths.

Right to Education and Religious Freedom vis-a-vis Limitations on Personal Liberty

Article 25(l) of the 1992 Constitution provides that: “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realisation of that right.” The Constitution further states in article 28(4) that: “No child shall be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason only of religious or other beliefs.” And section 8 (1) of the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560) provides that: “No person shall deprive a child access to education, immunisation, adequate
diet, clothing, shelter, medical attention or any other thing required for his development.” Therefore, there is no doubt that a child’s right to education is an entrenched provision in our laws and any attempt to deny the child such right would amount to a violation of his or her fundamental human rights, thus in breach of the supreme law of Ghana- the 1992 Constitution. Nonetheless, it has been argued by others that since there is no rights without limitations anywhere in the world, the religious freedom of a child or a person in school is not without limits. For instance, article 14 (1) (e) of the Constitution (supra) has been cited in this regard:

Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of his personal liberty except in the following cases and in accordance with procedure permitted by law … for the purpose of the education or welfare of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years. (Emphasis mine)

Interestingly, a careful and holistic reading of the whole of article 14 of the 1992 Constitution particularly clause 1(a)-(g) brings one to the logical conclusion that, the limitations to personal liberty under this article has more do with restrictions pertaining to freedom of movement than freedom of religion. For instance, a school would not be said to have acted  ultra vires if it decides that any student who intends to go out of the school shall require an exeat, which is distinct from a student’s right to manifest his/her religion on campus per se. Thus article 14 (1) (e) of the Constitution should not be read in isolation but in its entirety for a proper comprehension of its letter and spirit. More significantly, the Supreme Court of Ghana in the case of the New Patriotic Party v Inspector –General of Police [1993-94] GLR 459 @ 482  per Bamford-Addo JSC held inter alia that fundamental human rights are inalienable rights and can neither be derogated from or taken away by anyone or authority whatsoever. It would therefore be absurd and unjustifiable for anyone to claim ipso facto that a child being in school means he/she has surrendered his or her right to freedom of religion, except that the child shall also respect the rights and freedoms of others or for the public interest as provided under article 12 (2) of the Constitution, 1992.

Moreover, articles 14 (1) and 18  of the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (both of which Ghana is a party to) respectively states that: “States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” and that Parties to the Covenant shall undertake to respect the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure “the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their  own convictions” (Emphasis added). In 1993, the UN Human Rights Committee under the auspices of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued its General Comment No. 22 (48) on limitations in the case of freedom of religion posited that the limitations must be “directly related and proportionate to the specific need on which they are predicated”. And that they “may not be imposed for discriminatory purposes or applied in a discriminatory manner.” Furthermore, according to Justice Frank Murphy (dissenting) in Oklahoma Press Publishing Co v Walling 327 US 186(1946): “Liberty is too priceless to be forfeited through the zeal of an administrative agent”.

Conclusion

The Human Rights Committee adopted in Resolution 1986/20 that the concept of freedom to manifest ones religion or beliefs extends to ritual and ceremonial acts giving direct expression to belief as well as various practices integral to such acts including the building of places of worship, the use of ritual formulae and objects, the display of symbols and the observance of holidays as well as days of rest. The observance and practice of religion or belief may include not only ceremonial acts but also such customs as the observance of dietary regulations, the wearing of distinctive clothing or head coverings, participation in rituals associated with certain stages of life and the use of a particular language, customarily spoken by a group.

The essence of the concept of freedom of religion as held in the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Big M Drug Mart Ltd (1985) I SCR 295 is that every person is free to hold whatever religious beliefs his or her conscience dictates provided inter alia that such manifestations do not injured others or parallel the rights to hold and manifest beliefs and opinions of their own. Therefore, respecting the religious beliefs of a child or any person in our educational institution is not a matter of discretion by the school authorities but a matter of an obligation by all and sundry. Let’s not be counted among the many examples of States notorious for utilizing educational institutions and rules to repress the religious life of students. Freedom of religion has been one of the oldest or pre-eminent human right issue since the dawn of history and it is very crucial that it is protected and preserved in the interest of peace and security because prevention is not only better than cure but cheaper. It would suffice to note that the Supreme Court of Ghana held unanimously on the 23rd January 2019 in James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr. v Attorney-General (writ no. J1/14/2017) that “the constitutional provisions as articulated in articles 17, 21 (1) (b) (c), 35 (1) (5) (6) (a), 37 (1) and 56 guarantees freedom of religion in no uncertain terms.” (Emphasis added). Our educational institutions should be the last place by any stretch of imagination for the suppression and oppression of the religious and educational rights of students. I therefore opine that the government of Ghana has an onerous responsibility to provide equal opportunities for all religions and persons of other faiths aside the predominant religion in schools.

Recommendations

1. That the GES should as a matter of urgency come out with a holistic unified code of rules and regulations for all educational institutions under its ambit as intimated by the Minster of Education, Hon. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, in Parliament in conformity with the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

2. That the National Council for Tertiary Education (now Ghana Tertiary Education Commission)  and Ministry of Education should review all the rules and regulation of tertiary institutions in Ghana in order to also ensure that such rules conform to the letter and spirit  of the 1992 Constitution on the right to freedom of religion in particular.

3. That Muslim students should have a separate/parallel worship during Sunday church services or worships in schools under the supervision of a Muslim teacher or any worker in the school. Thus they should not be compel to attend church services or any non-Muslim religious gatherings against their beliefs.

4. That no Muslim student should be denied from performing the five compulsory daily prayers (including the Friday Prayers) outside teaching hours while in school.

5. That a reasonable space of worship or facilities should be provided for students (Christian, Muslims, etc.) to congregate for the purpose of prayer or act of worship at times and places with supervision by a teacher or worker which do not conflict with teaching and learning hours as directed by the National Peace Council in March 2015, whether the school is purely government, mission or privately owned.

6. That no Muslim female students should be prevented from wearing her hijab on campus as directed by the former President John Mahama in February 2015. Likewise, non-Muslim female students should not be forced to wear the hijab in Islamic schools (whether public or private) if they so desire.

7. That in the interest of rule of law and principles of natural justice and a lasting solution to this age-old problem, the Supreme Court should in all due respect expeditiously conclude on the case brought by Gershon Nii Lamptey in 2015 on the issues of compulsory church services for non-Christians in schools, inter alia, in order for justice to be seen to be done.

8. That the constitutional provisions on the right to religion should be enforced and respected by the State and all and sundry to stop the infringement of the right to practice religion in schools or educational institutions as recommended by the Constitutional Review Commission set up in 2010.

By Abass Mohammed

Ex-President, Ghana Muslim Students’ Association (GMSA), Greater Accra Region

Email: [email protected]