Banda Senior Secondary School in crisis

The Daily Graphic in a front page lead story which gives cause for national concern, reports that no student has sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) at the Banda Ahenkro Community Secondary School in the Brong Ahafo Region, since its establishment in 1993, because of lack of teachers.

The story says out of the 20 pioneer students admitted in 1993, only seven are still in the school trying to complete the syllabus to enable them to register for the SSSCE. Mr Ebenezer Baffo-Mensah, President of the University of Cape Coast branch of the Brong Ahafo Students? Union, who disclosed this in Cape Coast, after the Union?s annual get-together, is reported as attributing the refusal of teachers to accept posting to the school to the protracted chieftaincy dispute in the area.

According to him, the predicament of the students came to light recently whem members of the branch union undertook an outreach programme in the Banda area. He said the chieftaincy dispute has forced teachers in the school to leave while newly-trained posted ones have refused to go out for fear of their lives. Mr Baffo-Mensah is said to have expressed concern about the plight of the students, who have spent six years instead of the normal three-year period for the SSSCE programme.

Robbers raid Amansie West Rural Bank

In a second front page story, the Graphic says about 50 armed robbers allegedly raided the Amansie West Rural Bank at Antoakrom in Ashanti, in the early hours of Saturday and made away with the bank?s electric generator and several millions of cedis.

The paper quotes the Manager of the bank, Mr George Osei Mensah, as telling newsmen in Kumasi that the robbers, armed with pistols and other weapons, fired several warning shots to scare the residents and held policemen on duty at the Antoakrom Police Station under siege before breaking intgo the bank at 2 a.m. during a downpour.

Mr Mensah said the exact amount of money allegedly stolen is yet to be ascertained. According to him, the bank recorded an amount of 49 million cedis at the end of business on Friday and kept it in two safes at the bank, saying that the armed robbers took away one of the safes and the total amount contained in the safe, is yet to be known. He said he has reported the case to the Manso-Nkwanta, Bekwai and Kumasi Police.