The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) is currently not having enough manpower as well as infrastructure, in order to antagonize with its rivals in the Philippines, India, Egypt, England and the United States.
The academy was created in 1979 to train shipboard officers, nautical engineers, marine engineers, ratings and shorebased management personnel to serve the maritime community.
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However,the academy is currently facing difficulties, regarding staffing, lack of skilled manpower, underfunding, and poor management.
The reasons why the academy reached this situations are plenty. As local media reported, the institution has obsolete equipment, acquired 25 years ago, while another problem is that one lecturer accounts to 200 students. Moreover, the academy cannot award a Class 1 Certificate of Competency (CoC) to its graduates because of improper facilities.
Because of these reasons, the academy’s Board Chairman, Mr. Ademola Seriki is disappointed, as there are many abandoned projects and out of date infrastructure. Subsequently, he outlined the importance of replacing the school’s outdated equipment with modern ones.
In order to tackle these issues, Mr. Seriki proposed that the institution has to start a free training of stakeholders, with the aim to later provide the needed equipment.
The chairman also said that the expansion of the school’s laboratory is crucial, as this will make the facility more appealing for the cadets. He also mentioned that academy should collaborate with all stakeholders who can help it reach a new international standard.
Finally, the Rector of the academy, Commodore Emma Effedua Effedua, emphasized that the restructure of the school is crucial, and he sees this solution as the only way for the institution to mover forward.
