Religion and Education have been bedfellows since time immemorial with one complimenting the other. They have co-existed and each had contributed positively to society. In Ghana, formal education was started by the Christian missionaries who established schools like Mfantsipim, Adisadel College etc. They combined formal education with religious teachings. The aim was to produce students with religious background who will serve dual purpose of teachers and catechists. They were posted to teach in schools as well as took charges of the churches in the communities.
These arrangements had worked perfectly well with the mission schools churning out products some of whom went on to become pastors, church workers etc. Students from all backgrounds were incorporated into these arrangements, Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists etc without any hindrance. They followed laid down rules of these Christian mission schools.
Lately there has been calls by leaders of other faith especially Muslims for the imposition of other religious beliefs on their members to stop. This they say is a violation of their rights to freely express their religious beliefs in other schools other than Islamic ones. They insist that Muslim girls’ should be allowed to wear the hijab in accordance with their beliefs irrespective of which school they attend.
A protest march was organised by some Muslim groups in the Western region to protest the insistence of the Christian mission schools not to allow the wearing of the hijab. The Christian mission schools vehemently opposed this stance and have asked their schools to stick to the laid down rules.
This has led to a national debate with the president wading into the controversy by saying that students should not be forced to practice other religious practices other than their own in schools. This controversy must be handled with all the care it needs in order not to plunge this country into any religious conflict and chaos. By opting to attend a missionary school one must be made aware of the rules and regulations of the school. This practices even though already in existence will give the student the option of either accepting or rejecting that particular school.
Religious leaders from all the various faiths must refrain from making provocative and inflammatory statements that will lead to violence. Rather they should educate their followers to exercise restraint. Government must set up a committee to come up with a lasting solution to ensure that the peaceful coexistence that has characterised this country must not be compromised.
Extremist groups from all the religious sects must be discouraged from stoking any fire that can lead to violence and chaos. Politicians should not take advantage of the situation to incite one group against the other by their pronouncements and should rather serve as unifying forces in this regard.
We have coexisted for a long time without any rancour. Any attempt to disintegrate this unity by any extremist group must be nip in the bud. We need peaceful coexistence.
Author: MARTIN OSEI-AMEYAW (Group 2)
Crew: SHIRLEY BAIDEN, ROBERT CHINERY, SUMAYATU MOHAMMED, ABU MUBARIK, MELODY ANNOH, MARTHA GYENFA FRIMPONG, RUBY BONSIE, ESTHER COMMODORE, EMMANUEL EFFAH-DENNIS
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