Munro College will this year celebrate 160 years of educating boys from all walks of life in Jamaica.
The occasion will be marked by a series of activities that will be held throughout the year. Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid, who is a past student and taught at the all-boys institution, said he was honoured to launch the celebrations.
"The population at Munro has always been relatively small in comparison to other schools, but smallness does not necessarily mean that you cannot have impact ... and so as the great city on the hill, we have never been very large, but how magnificent our impact has been," he said.
Minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green, another graduate of Munro College, was also present at the event, and launched the J$18-million Munro College Old Boys' Association (MCOBA) Education Scholarship Fund.
The fund was established by old boys who have donated to the pool over a five-year period. The fund will continue to receive donations that will be used to assist needy students at the school. Green lauded the introduction of the scholarship fund, noting that the slowdown of farming and bauxite activity in St Elizabeth has made it economically difficulty for many students to attend the institution.
MCOBA President Arthur Williams outlined that the celebrations will begin with a church service, the unveiling of a 160th anniversary monument and the opening of the Munro College museum. The celebrations will also be marked by a distinguished lecture series and Munronian Week, which will see a number of distinguished old boys visiting the school to speak with current students.