Wa, May 14, GNA- Mr. George Hikah Benson, Upper West Regional Minister, has said the Catholic Church was an indispensable partner of State in national development.

He said the contribution of the Church to the education, health, agriculture sectors and good governance had impacted positively on the socio-economic development of the country. Mr. Benson was speaking at this year's annual conference of the Wa Catholic Diocesan Priest Association (WADPA), which was on the theme: "Church and State Partnership in Implementing the New Education Reform," in Wa on Tuesday.

He said the Church-State partnership was crucial to the implementation of the New Education Reform since the two institutions shared a common objective of improving the lives of the people. Mr Benson said the Reform was designed to meet the Information Communication Technology and other technological requirements of industries and other sectors of the economy. He called on the Church to contribute meaningfully to the implementation of the Reform.

Mr Benson expressed worry about youth indiscipline in the country and called on Churches to assist in the crusade against the social canker that was degrading the values of the nation. He called for a peaceful elections adding " The elections should not be regarded as a life and death affair, but as an event that calls on us to debate on issues that affects us as a people." Father Matthew Tuurosong, President of WADPA said putting together a beautiful package of Reform was not necessarily the same as having a reformed educational system.

He said the implementation of the Reform in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions could be difficult because of the peculiar situation in which they found themselves. Father Tuurosong said "The Reform cannot be implemented if students are not in school. There is the need for our students to stay in school like students in other parts of the country so that the Reform can be effectively implemented." He called on government to provide feeding grants to schools in the North to ensue successful implementation of the Reform. Father Tuurosong appealed to government and the church to collaborate efforts to establish a teacher training college in the region. 14 May 08