The Minister of Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has expressed serious concerns over alleged practices at Wesley Girls’ High School.
According to Muntaka, Muslim students are being monitored and forced to hide in order to pray.
Speaking on JoyNews on November 29, 2025, the minister warned that these actions could exacerbate religious tensions and threaten social cohesion.
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“Let me say this. And I sit here with the greatest of respect and with all my integrity. Wesley Girls ask girls to spy on even the Muslim girls to make sure they don’t pray. I’m told they hide. They have to hide to pray. Look, we are playing with something that, I’m sorry to say, can degenerate our society,” he said.
He noted that women are not obligated to attend Friday prayers in Islam, which partly explains their limited presence during these gatherings.
“In the case of Muslims, women alone do not even do Friday prayers. It’s not even mandatory for a female, that’s why you see, when you go to most of our Friday prayers, you don’t even see them in large numbers, but see the elderly because it’s not mandatory,” he said.
The minister, however, acknowledged some institutions that allow students of different religious faiths to practice freely without restrictions.
He cited examples such as Presbyterian SHS and Achimota, commending them for providing space for students to worship.
Muntaka added that such actions should not be criminalised.
“My second-born attended Presbyterian Secondary School. They only have a place where they worship. It’s not a mosque, but they give them a space where they can worship.
“In Achimota, they’re given a place where they can worship, but they adhere to all the school rules. During break time, the prayer takes sometimes five minutes. Don’t criminalise it because they are criminalising on those campuses,” he stated.
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The minister’s comments follow ongoing debates over religious freedom and school policies in Ghanaian institutions, sparking discussions on how best to balance discipline with respect for faith.
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