Elmina (C/R), Aug 27, GNA - Kofi Tawiah, a 40-year-old farmer at Abrem-Agona near Elmina, who allegedly assaulted his 70-year-old mother for taking care of his children because he is separated from their mother, was on Tuesday remanded to appear again on September 9. Tawiah pleaded not guilty.

Chief Inspector Anthony Gomashie told the court that Tawiah's former wife, Madam Abena Abaidoo, took custody of their two children aged two and four years when their marriage was dissolved. On August 7, she left the children in the care of their paternal grandmother, Nana Efua, and travelled to Elubo in the Western Region. On August 22 Tawiah, who had sworn not to have anything to do with the children, became infuriated when he visited his mother and found the children with her.

Without waiting for his mother to explain why the children were with her, Tawiah attempted to beat her but she managed to run away. The following morning Tawiah, who was still seething with anger, returned to his mother's house, booted her down in her bedroom and dragged her on the ground but some people around rescued her.

SSS Heads in rural areas appeal for improved facilities

Cape Coast, Aug. 26, GNA- Some Heads of second cycle institutions in rural communities in the Central Region on Tuesday appealed to the government to improve facilities in their schools, to attract qualified tutors and enhance enrolment.

They told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Cape Coast that so long as facilities at rural schools remained poor, good masters would not accept postings for such schools to attract high enrolment.

They were unhappy that while endowed schools in the region like Mfantsipim, Wesley Girl, Holy Child and Aggrey Memorial schools, often received over 1,000 applications from candidates with aggregates between six and 14, some schools in the rural areas, had less than 50 candidates with aggregates between 17 and 36.

The Headmasters stressed that pressure on these schools could be lessened if others in the rural areas were equally equipped. The Headmasters of Mfantsipim and Adisadel, Mr Crosby Eshun and Mr Aseidu Gyimah, respectively, told the GNA that their school would only admit between 400 and 450 out of more than 1,000 qualified candidates. In an address read for her, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Rev. Ama Afo Blay, urged the heads to encourage and reward hard work, by placing all candidates who performed creditably, whether or not their schools were selected as the first choice. She said beginning from the 2003-04 academic year, Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) would be conducted in May/June instead of July/August.

By this arrangement, teachers could conveniently participate in sandwich courses and in-service training programmes during the long vacation from June to September.

Furthermore, Ghana can now join other West African countries, namely, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia with whom she had earlier agreed to internationalise their SSSEC to be known as the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Students being admitted this 2003/2004 academic year, would in this regard, be taught on the WASSCE syllabi, which she said, was not different from that of SSSCE.

However, students would need a lot of encouragement and attention to get them to perform and compete with the other nations for excellence.