Mariners Write Amaechi, Advocates Reduction In Cadet Intake At MAN Oron

The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM)‎ has written a position paper to the Minister of Transport; Mr. Rotimi Amaechi on the deplorable condition of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, asking for a turnaround of the academy.
The association among other its other demands noted that the cadet intake into MAN Oron is too large and there is need to cut down the number of intakes.
President of the Master Mariners; Capt Ade Olopoenia in an exclusive chat with Shipping Position Daily last week‎ noted that a classroom at the academy has not less than 200 cadets attending lectures. He said that this is not a conducive learning environment.
Speaking on the position paper written to the Minister, the NAMM President‎ said that the position of the association is that government should not go ahead with the construction of the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State until MAN Oron is fully upgraded.
He noted that ‎in Nigeria at the moment, MAN Oron is the only maritime college as recognized by IMO to train seafarers‎ and that for a country of 170million population; this is still a drop in the ocean.
“What we are saying is that they should upgrade the academy, get in more lecturers and qualified people to lecture the cadets, instructional materials and simulators should be upgraded”
“Crucially too, the student intake to MAN Oron is too large, in a class sometimes you have 200 students, there is no way you can train seafarers in this condition, when we were having our own training, we were‎ about 25 in a class, a lot of practical will be involved and there is no way a lecturer can conduct practical with 200 students”, he stated.
Speaking on the controversial Nigerian Maritime University project, Olopoenia warned that it is not the number of the schools that matters; it is the quality of the education that is important.
“Rather than create an academy that would become a white elephant project, government should look back. Luckily the Acting Rector is an ex- student of the school, so he should be able to know better‎”.
The Master Mariner however took a swipe at private maritime academies in Nigeria, noting that the private academies are not training cadets to enable them get Certificate of Competency.
“What they are doing is short courses; it is only MAN Oron that is supposed to train people in the full requirement of the STCW. Privates are not building students for COC, it is only short courses they do, it is only NIMASA that conducts COC”.