Executive Director of the Center for Public Opinion and Awareness, Michael Donyina Mensah
Executive Director of the Center for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), Michael Donyina Mensah, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding alleged “discriminatory religious policies” at Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
He noted that while many argue that publicly funded schools should allow full religious expression, government–religion partnerships are not new.
“Every year, the government uses taxpayer money to subsidise travel to Mecca. There is also an Islamic Education Service that employs Arabic teachers. These practices support a religious agenda,” he explained in a Facebook post on November 25, 2025.
Mensah said mission schools were originally built to offer “holistic education,” combining academics with moral and spiritual training, and government funding later transformed them into public schools without eliminating their foundational principles.
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“The transition to public schools does not mean holistic education should disintegrate. If students disrupt that structure, it can create chaos,” he stated.
Citing examples, Donyina Mensah said some Islamic schools require all students, regardless of faith, to wear the hijab, just as Christian mission schools maintain their religious frameworks.
“If my religious beliefs are so vital that I cannot compromise, I would not enroll my child in a traditionally Islamic or Presbyterian school,” he said.
He stressed that students choose their schools, and long-established institutions cannot be expected to abandon the values that shaped their reputation.
“It is challenging to say, ‘I want to join the school but do not wish to participate in the religious and moral training.’ This attitude can create problems.”
Mensah added that while the argument for full inclusion in publicly funded schools is understandable, it could create long-term complications.
“Ideally, we should work with the government to build more schools that offer holistic education, academic, moral, and spiritual,” he concluded.
NAD/MA
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