Mico celebrates 175 years of excellence
Published:Tuesday | January 25, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer
"Equip students for life," was the charge given to the men and women of the Mico University College in Kingston on Sunday, as the institution marked its 175th anniversary service on campus.
Rose Hudson-Wilkin, chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, while lauding the institution for its many achievements over the years, encouraged those at the institution not to stray from the true purpose of the pursuit of excellence in academia.
"Miconians present and those to come, I call on you to think again about the great responsibility that lies on your shoulders as teachers, as educators of the future generations of this land and other places," Wilkin charged.
She said that as facilitators in the education process, teachers should help students understand the significance of the different subject areas.
"Whatever subject we teach, whether it be geography or history, you should have as your underlined aim the task of enabling your students to develop their understanding of meaning and significance in life."
"My request to you is, help your students to become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters or skilled psychopaths. Reading, writing and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human."
New resolve
The chaplain implored educators to return to their classroom with a renewed sense of purpose.
"You must go back to the classroom with a new resolve to educate our children in a new way. Whatever is set before you, you must have a sense that what you are giving them is a lesson in life which they will in turn teach their children, and their children's generations to come."
Chancellor of Mico, Professor Errol Miller, said the institution's affiliates are giving thanks for its survival through changing times.
"We are also celebrating that despite the changing times the institution has remained true to its founding as a non-denominational but Christian institution," he said in a written statement.
The Mico University College was founded in 1835 as a co-educational institution training British volunteers to teach in Jamaican schools. When the Government of Jamaica expanded secondary education in the 1960s, The Mico included in its portfolio the training of teachers for the junior secondary schools. By the end of the 1970s, the institution further expanded its training of teachers for secondary schools to cover the entire range of secondary education.
In 2006, the institution was upgraded to The Mico University College by the Ministry of Education which mandated that it make the majority of its programmes degree programmes in teacher education and related areas.