Rector Wants FG To Fund Private Maritime Training Institutions

A Professor of Maritime Economy, Alex Okwuashi, has urged the Federal Government to encourage private maritime training institutions by giving education grants to the institutions and support them with specific learning materials.
Okwuashi made the plea in an interview with newsmen in Lagos last week.
The expert said that government should also provide integrated sea training vessels to complement the efforts of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, Akwa Ibom.
Okwuashi, Rector, Certified Institute of Shipping of Nigeria (CISN), said that lack of adequate number of maritime training institutions offering nautical and seafaring-related programmes, caused the dearth of maritime manpower.
He also bemoaned the absence of a national carrier and indigenous fleet for sea training and attachments for seafarers.
According to him, our emphasis as a nation should be first to build maritime infrastructure, train resource persons needed for the critical and strategic industry.
“ The other aspect is to study and understand the markets or strategic opportunities to guide direction of training personnel and investments,’’ Okwuashi said.
The maritime economist said that the CISN was ready to partner with the government, adding that one way of doing this would be to send students from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), MAN, Oron and other institutions with related programmes to the CISN.
“Government investment in shipping should be predicated on the outcome of need assessment of available business investment markets.
“In Nigeria, studies have shown that our markets are – crude oil market, product market, fish/trawler market, Container/Roll On/Roll Off ship market, coastal management and resort,’’ he said.