By Sunny Edemenang – Uyo
The Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, Mr. Mkpandiok Mkpandiok has assured the global maritime sector that the highly skilled cadets trained at the Academy can compete favourably in the global market.
The Acting Rector made this declaration during the first quarterly Quality Assurance Audit Exercise which took place in the Academy recently.
The one week Exercise which was organized in compliance with the Global Maritime Watchdog of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) requirement for Nigeria to remain on the White List, aimed at ensuring that staff of the Academy adhere strictly to set standards in the course of discharging their job responsibilities.
Mr. Mkpandiok reiterated the importance of the exercise to make every staff of the Academy an active participant in the actualization of the Academy’s repositioning and restructuring effort to complement the Federal Government’s policy to place the premier maritime training institution on the global map as Centre of Excellence in Maritime Training and Education.
The Acting Rector commended the Quality Assurance Audit Committee and the Department of Quality Control for being up and doing, noting that “based on the specialized nature of training in the Academy, the curriculum would be reviewed to incorporate all those aspects that would aid compliance to the 2010 amendments of the STCW Convention at the various levels of seafaring.
While calling on the Directors of Schools and Heads of Departments not to relent in reviewing their curricula, the Acting Rector appealed to the Internal Auditors to positively criticize and bring to the fore non compliance, charging that “we must add value to make our cadets competitive in the global market”
In his remarks at the occasion, the Head of Quality Control and Servicom, Mr. Thlawut Dunya, pointed out that IMO Member States Audit Scheme (IMSAS) is intended to provide the member state with a comprehensive and objective assessment of how effectively it administers and implements those mandatory IMO instructions which are covered by the scheme.
IMO audit became mandatory since 1st January 2016 to determine the extent to which all member states give full and complete effect to the obligations and responsibilities contained in a number of IMO Treaty Instruments.
The Mandatory Instruments included in the scope of the scheme cover; Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974 and its 1988 Protocol), Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers (STCW 1978), Prevention Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Local Lines (LL66 and its 1988 Protocol). Others are, Tonnage Measurement of Ships (Tonnage 1969) and Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea (COLLEGE 1972).
