Governor General Praises Mico Teacher’s College

Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Howard Cooke has lauded the graduates of Mico Teachers’ College for their continued contribution to the social development of Jamaica.

He was speaking at a ceremony held at the College’s Eli Matalon Gymnasium today (March 14) to herald celebrations for Homecoming Week at the institution.

An alumni of Mico College himself, the Governor General said, “I can definitively say that if researchers and writers were to carefully examine our great Jamaican past, the greatest contributors to the social, economic, ethical and spiritual development of our people were some people called Mico men and women.”

He told the gathering that there were many lessons to be learnt from Mico’s history, and pointing to the college’s motto, ‘Do It With Thy Might’, he said it spoke “clearly to the fact that you have to be definitive in the design of what you want, and having identified the design, you must not deviate”.

He encouraged the students to have a strong sense of patriotism, and also called on them to “abide by the rules that will help you to maintain the dignity, the uprightness, and the goodness of the Jamaican person”.

Governor General Cooke observed that despite the setbacks that Mico has had to face, “it has to be regarded as central to the development of modern Jamaica”.

He explained that graduates of the school were instrumental in meeting the educational needs of students in distant areas across the island, and also played a pivotal role in the development of communities through the schools.

“So the glory of modern Jamaica is the glory of Mico,” he said.

Continuing, he noted that, “Mico College indeed was the greatest instrument for any kind of growth, our sons, some from workshops became builders, architects, developers. Some became professors, some became great leaders in the financial world, some went from here to the United States, to Canada, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world to teach people.”

Activities slated for Mico College’s Homecoming Week include an education forum, a founders’ day luncheon, a sports day, and a cleanup day.