The Upper West Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr. Iddrisu Mahama has expressed worry over the lack of leadership in the activities of Islamic education in the region. He said no single leader appears to have control over the Muslim Ummah. Speaking on the topic ‘‘25 years of existence of Islamic education unit, challenges and way forward’’, at the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Islamic education unit in Wa, Mr. Iddrisu Mahama stated that the unit over the years has chalked lots of success including the human resource development. According to him, with the effort of the unit, the girl child now has the opportunity to go to school, rather than being married off to the next available man. Mr. Iddrisu posited that despite the several benefits Muslims now enjoy from secular education, the Islamic education unit faces a lot of challenges citing the case of leadership crises. ‘‘In Wa and its environs, the Muslim community has a three-arm authority namely the Yeri-naa, the Chief Imam and Jami at. Their roles and responsibilities are not properly defined. Hence, the struggle for recognition, power and authority. This divides the Ummah especially when educational matters are concerned. The Islamic unit manager, whose main concern is educational (secular), is relegated to the background by the tripartite authority struggle. Instead a sect instituted for missionary activities wants to control education,’’ Mr. Iddrisu stated. Government in a bid to remedy the situation according to Mr. Iddrisu instituted the Islamic education unit council to serve as an advisory body but to no avail. Mr. Iddrisu further stated that the emergence of new Islamic doctrines has further compounded the issue and continue to divide Muslims in Wa and within the Upper West region. He suggested that for Islam to progress and thrive very well in the region, the Jamiat, Yeri-naa and Imams need to redefine their roles and directions. He asked the people to drop their ethnic feelings in order for unity to prevail in the municipality among Muslims. The Upper West Regional Minister, Ambassador Amin Amidu Sulemani stated that government’s vision to build a Better Ghana Agenda cannot be realized without quality education. He said the government has demonstrated its commitment to enhance education by empowering schools through infrastructure development to create an enabling environment for a sound foundation for wisdom, knowledge, skills and desirable values and attitudes. He entreated the schools to pay special attention to the education of the girl-child and advice them not to see the girls only as future wives. Ambassador Sulemani said even though a lot of progress has been made in girl child education there is still more to be done in that area. It is his believe that young ladies will have better and more respectable marriages if they are well educated.