Methodist Church Defends Wesley Girls’ High School in Supreme Court Suit
The Methodist Church Ghana says it is taking steps to obtain official records from the Supreme Court following news of a pending suit filed against the Board of Governors of Wesley Girls’ High School, the Attorney-General and the Ghana Education Service.
In a statement signed by the Presiding Bishop and Chairman of the WGHS Board, Most Rev. Prof. Johnson K. Asamoah-Gyadu, the Church said it has not been formally notified about the case—Shafic Osman v. The Board of Governors, Attorney-General & GES—but will engage its legal team to protect its interest once the official documents are received.
The Church strongly rejected claims that Wesley Girls’, as a government-assisted mission school, is a “public school” engaged in discriminatory practices against students of other faiths.
It noted that since its founding in 1836 by Harriet Wrigley of the Methodist Mission, the school has trained generations of students “without regard to race, creed, religion or background.”
The statement highlighted that WGHS has, over the years, educated students from a wide range of religious traditions — including Muslims, Adventists, Catholics, Pentecostals, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists — under its long-standing Methodist values of discipline, unity and holistic formation.
According to the Church, the government’s partnership with mission schools, which began in the early 1960s, has never changed the Methodist character of Wesley Girls’. It stressed that discrimination is “inconsistent with Christian teaching” and therefore unacceptable within its mission.
The Church emphasised that all students admitted to the school are only required to respect its traditions and operate within an established framework designed to promote unity, discipline, academic excellence and shared experience. Creating parallel systems for different religious groups, it said, would lead to segregation and undermine cohesion.
It further referenced the 2024 Memorandum of Understanding developed by the Conference of Managers of Education Units (COMEU) with support from the National Peace Council and key religious bodies — including Christian, Muslim, and mission-based organisations — which sets guidelines for harmonious coexistence within mission schools. The Methodist Church says Wesley Girls’ has fully adhered to these guidelines.
The statement also acknowledged support from the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Christian Council, the Anglican Church and other ecumenical groups.
Reaffirming its Wesleyan principles, the Church stressed that its heritage “admits of no discrimination whatsoever” and that it remains committed to dialogue, peace and mutual respect among all faiths.
