Accra, Aug. 17, GNA - The government over the weekend defended the New Educational Reformed in spite of the teething administrative, and logistical challenges that has bedevil its implementation.

Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Education, Science and Sports (MESS) said in spite of the challenges, the reforms sought to provide a guarantee for creating a well-balanced school leavers equipped with intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical knowledge, skills, values and aptitudes for self- actualisation.

Prof. Fobih stated in a speech read on his behalf at the commissioning of an ultra modern school complex, Vilac International School at Accra. The school combines both the Ghanaian educational system and the British educational programme to give foreign students access to international programmes while residing in Ghana.

It also seeks to equip Ghanaian students who would want to pursue further studies outside the country to have a glimpse of learning abroad and to learn from their foreign counterparts.

The Minister said the educational reform is a necessary measure for reorienting the content of the educational enterprise to meet the developmental goals of every nation.

He said the reform is also structured to provide a strong foundation to form the fundamental transformation of the education system through which children acquire basic literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills as well as skills for creativity and healthy living.

He said the current reform lays emphasis on the role of science and information technology as a step towards equipping Ghanaian graduates with the tools to compete on the global market.

It also aimed at increasing the percentage of students going into science related disciplines and alter the number of years spent by students at the pre-university level.

Other areas includes, citizenship education, creative arts and information communication and technology to make students appreciate the basic concepts and values that underlie a democratic political community and a constitutional order to enable them uphold the constitution of Ghana at all times.

"Creative arts seek to help the children develop critical thinking and imagination and the spirit of innovation, creativity and resourcefulness, while information communication and technology is to place the children well in the world of knowledge base revolution," Prof Fobih stated.

Prof Fobih said the reform would also promote the inter-connectivity of the different levels of education to ensure that children have a strong foundation and are adequately prepared for further academic work and acquisition of technical and vocational skills.

Mrs. Victoria Mensah, Executive Director said the mission of the school is to provide every child with excellent and wholesome education through a highly experienced staff, comfortable, safe and stimulating learning environment with wide variety of co-curricular activities to develop the students social skills and awareness of God.

Mrs Mensah said Vilan International School will provide the best academically, morally, emotionally and physically -"to nurture a complete personality."

She said although the world is at a stage where the focus of education is towards the demands of the global market, countries like Ghana should rather be looking at what makes a school product a reliable and valuable soldier for local community productivity, sustainability and or an expert of the immediate environment.

She said, "the values of a society are a crucial aspects of its people's self-conception of what they want to become. In order to build communities that we all feel proud to belong to, our values for education should be taken from our African philosophies, cultural values, which enshrine the principle of living for the community."

"We have to reshape our values to the idea that we have the responsibility for building happier communities and the central goal of education should reflect in building in the kid values for the future."

She said teachers of Vilac International School would instill in the students the values of respect, responsibility and the transformation of local community productive capacity, through deeper study and understanding of society' environment and the creative pursuit of optimising the benefit of local resources.

She expressed regret that the values of honesty and service for the good Of the community are nowhere demonstrated and effectively taught in schools currently.

Awulae Agyemfi Kwame II, Omanhene of Nsein Traditional Area, supported by other dignitaries who graced the occasion jointly inaugurated the school.