Chairman, Governing Board, Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Mr Ademola Seriki, has pledged to advocate for more female enrolment in the academy to address its present gender disparity.
Seriki made the pledge in an interview with newsmen in Akwa Ibom last weekend.
According to him, the ratio of the female cadets to the male is not up to one per cent, which is very poor.
“I asked the rector what is the ratio of men to women and he said like 10 to one per cent, and I realised it was almost like 0.1.
“I was in a classroom, and saw only two female cadets in a class of 70 cadets. This is uncalled for, I am gender friendly and also gender sensitive, I can tell you that more women will be encouraged to come into the academy.
“By next year and subsequent years, you will see the difference in the large intake of women as cadets. We will embark on it because women always prove to be equal with men.
“Women’s right is women’s right, we will encourage them to enrol, especially those that are ready,” the board chairman said.
Mrs Godiya Yohanna, a member of the Board from the Ministry of Communication, said she was not impressed with the number of female cadets in the institution.
“In an era where females were excelling in all facets of life, I am not impressed that in a whole class they are just two female cadets. In this era, women do not only perform well, they excel wherever you put them.
“So I expect an improvement in the percentage of women enrolment, I think they are not encouraged or even unaware that they can enroll in this academy,” Yohanna said.
Commodore Emma Effedua (rtd), the Rector, MAN, said that though the numbers of female students are not proportional to that of the men, yet there were still quite a number of females in other courses.
Effedua said the academy would implement the advice of the governing council to encourage more female cadets to enrol in the academy.
He, however, said that no concession would be given to them, adding that they must meet the cut-off marks and must be qualified to be in the academy.
“They must meet the cut-off points, there won’t be any concession for them because I believe in merit; as far as they are qualified, they will be admitted and we will try to encourage the females,” the rector said.
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