Full text: Grave threat to Catholic education in Ghana – Sir Banahene’s letter to lay leaders

9 Champion Road
                                                                                                                                Fosua Villa
                                                                                                                                Danyame
                                                                                                                                 Kumasi

28 February 2023
The Chairman
National Catholic Laity Council
NCS
Accra

The Supreme Subordinate President
Knights of St John International
Holy Spirit Cathedral
Accra

The Supreme Knight
Knights of Marshall
Sekondi

Dear Chairman and Lay Leaders

GRAVE THREAT TO CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN GHANA

I wish to draw your attention to the alarming rate at which the Catholic Church in Ghana is systematically being deprived of the bona fide ownership of her educational institutions especially, pre-tertiary schools, by the government of Ghana.

You are obviously aware of the situation where the Catholic Church has been deprived of control of their schools to such an extent that the Church is unable to train our students to know and understand Catholic faith and doctrines.

We continue to receive reports of unbecoming behaviours among students in Catholic Schools and these run counter to the faith we hold, yet the Church is unable to act decisively because effective control of these schools is in the hands of the Government.

ADVERTISEMENT

In this respect, to continue to refer to these schools as Catholic Schools is a misnomer and a manifestation of crass anomaly. The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Christian Council of Ghana as well as other Faith leaders in Ghana have over the years engaged with the government over the issue of control of the Mission and Faith Schools in Ghana but all efforts are always scuttled by government.

In 2019, for instance, all the Faith Organisations in Ghana and the Government drew up a Memorandum of Understanding after several meetings but, while the Faith Organisations have signed the document, the government, after repeated assurances, has failed to sign the Memorandum which moderately proposes a partnership.

On top of this, emerging credible reports indicate that the government of the day is now asking the Catholic Church to surrender all lands occupied by the Catholic Schools in the country to the government. My purpose in writing this letter is to request the Catholic Laity to consider mounting a protest against the continued, subtle and unjustified expropriation or nationalization of Catholic Schools in Ghana.

Such a protest will send strong signal to the government that it is not just the Ghana Catholic Bishops that are “fighting” for the control of their schools but also the entire Catholic Church. It is important to note that there has been no agreement ever between the Catholic Church and the government that gives the latter any right to take over our schools.

The 1925 Guggisberg’s Education Ordinance that outlined the general framework (the famous 14 Principles) to govern the provision of education in the country stipulated that “there should be co-operation between the government and the Missions, and the latter should be subsidized for educational purposes”. It was this instrument that gave birth to what became known as “Assisted Schools”.

The government of Kwame Nkrumah in 1961 passed an Act which sought to abolish this practice of “Assisted Schools” and deprive the Church of having any control over her own schools. But as a result of public outcry the part of the Act relating to control of the Mission Schools was removed. Since then the relationship between the government and the Missions has been that of non-coded partnership.

Under the circumstances, it would be appropriate and legitimate for such a protest to take place by the Catholic laity. Such a protest will also sync with the position of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference as well as that of the Memorandum. You may request for a copy of the Memorandum from the National Catholic Secretariat. If for some reason you do not find this letter necessary, you may excuse my presumption and take the liberty to ignore it without any prejudice.

Yours fraternally

Sir Fosuaba Mensah Banahene.