Kumasi, April 9, GNA- Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), on Wednesday donated computers and its accessories to 16 selected Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Ashanti Region.

The gesture, which forms part of COCOBOD's year-long 60th Anniversary celebrations and a fulfillment of its social responsibilities, saw each beneficiary school receiving five computers and a printer.

The recipient schools include Jachie-Pramso SHS, Mabang Secondary Technical, Oppong Memorial, Kumasi Girls', Agona SDA, Osei Kyeretwie and Toase and Konadu Yiadom.

At a brief presentation ceremony in Kumasi Mr Isaac Osei, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of COCOBOD said his outfit has demonstrated interest and commitment to the country's education since the post independence era.

He said this has been indicated in its support for education, in terms of infrastructure development and training as typified by the COCOBOD scholarship scheme instituted long ago from, which most scholars and technocrats have benefited.

Mr Osei said COCOBOD is also proud to contribute to Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) education, which are one of the important components in the New Education Reform, designed to produce the right human resource needed to advance the country's socio-economic development.

He commended school heads, teachers and other educational workers for their pivotal roles in the training of the country's human resource, and pledged to provide 100 more computers to some deprived SHS in Ashanti.

Mrs Belinda S. Addo, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, commended the COCOBOD for supporting the country's ICT education, which is crucial for achieving the aims of the New Education Reform programme. She however said, a lot more SHS in deprived areas of the Region such as Esase-Bontefufuo SHS, Owerriman and Tetrem SHS among others, are in dire need of computers and appealed to COCOBOD to consider such schools when donating computers in future.

Mr Kwasi Owusu Achiaw, Head master of the Prempeh College in Kumasi and the Ashanti Regional President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), appealed to COCOBOD for fuel-powered generators to help facilitate the use of the computers in schools where there is no electricity.

Heads of beneficiary schools, who received the computers thanked COCOBOD for the kind gesture and called on other corporate bodies to follow their example.