The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron has disclosed that the decision to reduce yearly intake of cadets for National Diploma from over a thousand cadets to 99was meant to reposition the Academy and ensure that cadets get the required sea time.
The Rector of the academy, retired Commodore Efejua Doja, disclosed this last week in Lagos at the 7th annual conference/annual general meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (NIMENA).
The Rector who was represented Engineer J.C Orji, also said that the academy is undoing not only infrastructural reformation, but also a review of the students’ curriculum.
He said that the reason for the reduction in the number of intakes of cadets is to ensure that the cadets when graduated will get enough ship for their sea time training.
"The maritime academy has undergone a lot of transformation and you will be surprised if you get there today, not only the infrastructure it is equally in the students’ curriculum. There have been screening exercises for the incoming cadets who will be trained as maritime professionals”
“Formerly the academy used to take in about 1000 or so intakes per year, but this year in its bid to reposition the training mandate of the academy, the intake for the National Diploma is just about 90 from over a thousand before", he said.
He disclosed that the rector is taking the bull by the horn to ensure that the cadets get the required sea time, even as he said that the academy is partnering with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ship Owners Association (SOAN) in other to achieve this sea time training for cadets.
"The reason behind this is that the mandate for producing maritime professionals given to the academy does not stop at that academic qualification of the National Diploma. It also involves ensuring that when they graduate from the academy they get ships where they will get the mandatory one year training and MAN, Oron is taking on the bull by the horn. They are liaising, partnering with NIMASA and the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) to ensure that those cadets who will be coming out by December this year on conclusion of their two years maritime academy program, will be posted to shoos where they will do the mandatory one year ship training and at the end of that, they will be properly trained for the maritime industry", he explained.
Orji, maintained that the academy is a vital stakeholder in the Nigerian maritime industry.
"Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, is a vital stakeholder in the Nigerian maritime industry. In the sense that it is an institution that trains the manpower of the maritime industry, he added.
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