MANILA, Philippines — The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) on Sunday said it will issue show-cause orders to four non-conformant maritime schools for continued operations despite lack of government permit.
In a statement issued by Marina, it said that after the surveillance of its central and regional offices of 21 maritime higher educational institutions (MHEIs), four schools with disapproved applications to operate were found to still be accepting first year Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation (BSMT) and/or Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering (BSMarE) students for the academic year 2018-2019.
“These educational institutions are noted to be deceiving their learners that the programs they offer are approved and compliant with STCW Convention 1978, as amended,” Marina said, referring to the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for seafarers.
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The STCW Convention is a maritime safety instrument which sets the global standard for training and certification of seafarers.
The Marina, however, withheld the identities of the four institutions “pending their receipt of their respective show-cause orders and finality of decision from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) en banc.”
After the issuance of the show-cause orders, the four maritime schools in question will be given 10 days to submit their responses to the Marina.
It will then be deliberated by the Technical Panel on Maritime Education (TPME) for further corrective measures.
With this, the Marina reiterated its policy that educational programs from MHEIs with no permission to operate from the government shall not be recognized.
“The Marina regularly monitors and evaluates MHEIs to ensure that their facilities and training equipment, quality standard system (QSS), shipboard training, examination and assessment system, faculty, and curriculum are in compliance with the STCW Convention 1978, as amended, to uphold the quality and competence of Filipino seafarers,” it said. /je