Today marks the take-off of the New Education Reform Programme with the re-opening of public schools for the 2007/2008 academic year. The programme, which was launched by President Kufuor about a year ago is aimed at ensuring 11 years of universal basic education comprising two years of kindergarten (KG) six years primary education, three years high school and four years of senior high school education. The medium of instruction at the KG and lower primary under the reform will be Ghanaian Language and English, while at the basic level emphasis will be on literacy, numeracy, creative arts and problem solving skills. This is the second time in 20 years that the country’s educational system is being reformed. The maiden reform in 1987 witnessed a major transformation with the introduction of the Junior and Secondary School concepts. The Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Professor Dominic Fobih at a news conference in Accra last Thursday assured the nation that all is set for the reform to take off today and added that the programme is expected to cost the government 12.160 billion Ghana Cedis over an eight-year period. Today also marks the "My First Day at School" festival by which all children of four years are to be enrolled into KG nationwide and officially welcomed into the formal educational system. Source: The Ghanaian Times