Accra, March 21, GNA - The Ghana Muslim Academy has appealed to the government to investigate circumstances that led to the death of Mr Abdul Gafaru Muastapha, a student of the Adisadel College, Cape Coast. The student reportedly jumped to his death from a fourth floor in an attempt to escape punishment for not attending a Christian morning devotion held in the school.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, Mr Seth Ibrahim Owusu, president of the Academy, also appealed to the government to promote dialogue between leaders of the major religions in the country and stakeholders in education to find a peaceful approach to addressing situations that tend to bring chaos.

He said the Academy had received several reports on restrictions and imposition of one religion over the other in educational institutions in the country, including training colleges and that the sudden death of Mustapha was just one out of a lot of such cases. Mr Owusu said in some cases in well-known senior high schools, Muslim students are reportedly being denied their basic human rights of the Islamic prayer and fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan. He called on the Ghana Education Service to clearly indicate the difference between school gatherings and church service and also to allow students the right to practice their religion within the confines of the law.

He said the academy would work with the leadership of the Ghana Muslim Students Association to institute an annual forum on the 16th day of every March "to monitor the situation on the ground so as to spare the nation this unfortunate situation in the future." Mr Owusu expressed the hope that the government would take steps to arrest the alleged religious bias in schools and forestall any future occurrences.