High Court should have penalized Achimota for abusing the rights of Rastafarian students – Kwaku Azar

• Kwaku Azar says the court should have fined Achimota for abusing the rights of Tyron Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea

• He also appealed to the GES and the Ministry of Education not to endorse the actions of Achimota School

• He believes institutions must have plans to deal with such issues

Professor Kwaku Azar, a private legal practitioner and accounting professor has said that the Accra High Court should have fined Achimota School and ordered a compensation be paid to the two Rastafarian students who were denied admission by the school.

Kwaku Azar stated in a Facebook post that the rights of the students were trampled upon by Achimota School hence the school should have suffered financial punishment for it.

He opined that it is long overdue for state institutions or persons who misconduct themselves to suffer punishment for their action.

“My only problem with the ruling is that it imposed no cost on Achimota. State actors do not learn unless their illegal actions come at a price.

“There was no reason for the young boys to be denied their right to education and they deserve to be compensated and Achimota deserves to be penalized for the infringement of their right.

He also appealed to the Attorney-General not to offer any service to the school as its actions are not rooted in law.

“The Attorney-General should not defend every unlawful action taken by a state agency. It should protect the constitution and advice agencies so that they do not take unconstitutional actions. It was too clear that this grooming policy was unconstitutional and we could have been saved from this needless drama.”

Professor Kwaku Azar also called on the Ghana Education Service to draw up a comprehensive program that handles issues such as the Achimota case.

“The GES needs regulation, or at a minimum, guidance to schools on balancing educational objectives and protecting religious liberties. For instance, schools cannot ban religious fasting during Ramadan. Therefore, a document detailing how school administrators can accommodate fasting students is overdue.

"We cannot have a situation where each headmaster decides whether and the extent to which it will allow certain religious practices”.

Meanwhile the Minister for Education, Yaw Adutwum has ordered the school to hold on with its decision to appeal the ruling by the court.

He explained, “I am the Minister for Education and there is a Director-General of Ghana Education Service (GES), Boards of High Schools are constituted by the Minister, instructions for running of the schools are provided by the Director-General of GES, so tomorrow [today], I’m meeting with the Headmistress of Achimota together with the Board Chairman.

"I was very surprised; he cannot take that unilateral position; I’m waiting for the full briefing from the Attorney General whom I commend for going to court and taking a serious interest in this case. And when I’m briefed by the Attorney General after receiving the certified judgement from the court, a decision will be made."