Alhaji Muhammad Braimah Youseph, an Islamic Scholar, has impressed upon Muslims to embrace secular education.

He said this was required to boost their knowledge and also equip them with the relevant skills to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s development process.

“We are obliged religiously to avail ourselves of the type of education that tend to increase our faith, general knowledge and our socio-economic standings in the society for our own benefit”, he observed.

Alhaji Youseph was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, on the sidelines of a ceremony to officially launch a free educational programme, put together by the Ghana Muslim Students Association (GMSA).

The five-week programme, targeting Muslim students in the Senior High School (SHS) is aimed at building their capacity in all the subject areas to enhance their literacy level.

The resource persons comprise of experienced examiners and tutors, who are expected to impart the needed knowledge to the beneficiaries to bolster their confidence during examinations and for academic purposes.

It is being sponsored by Legal-ink, a legal firm.

The free education programme, which used to be vibrant in the early 1990’s, helped to nurture personalities including Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawasi, Alhaji Nurudeen Hamidan, Asokore-Mampong Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), and other technocrats and elites, who are now contributing their quota in all spheres of society’s development.

Alhaji Youseph, also Chairman of the Planning Committee for the programme, expressed delight at the enthusiasm of students from all over the country to get registered, urging the beneficiaries to abide by all the rules and regulations to ensure its success.

He said the only means to alleviate poverty in Muslim-dominated communities was through education and tasked the students to be serious with their studies.