Academy Develops Curriculum For Award Of Degrees

The Maritime
Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, says it has commenced the development of its academic curriculum, to enable it award university degrees.
MAN’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Sidi Mpandiok, disclosed this to newsmen on a one-week training in Oron.
Mpandiok said that the curriculum would be used in lecturing cadets, after the institution had become fully transformed into a maritime university.
He said that the academy had recently assembled a team of professors and doctorate degree holders, with the sole objective of evolving a curriculum for the academy, in readiness for its new status.
“The management had assembled at TINAPA, Cross River, six professors and 12 doctorate degree holders from different universities and they are working on a curriculum for the academy,’’ he said.
According to him, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), visited MAN in September, in line with the academy’s quest to become the first maritime university in Nigeria.
He said that the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, had been sending resource persons to MAN, Oron, to assist in preparing the institution for the award of university degrees.
“About two weeks ago, the Rector of this academy was in Turkey, in pursuit of that same goal of strengthening the academy to become a degree-awarding institution,’’ he said.
Mpandiok said that the management was determined to upgrade the academy, to enable it to admit more students.
“The academy received 10,000 applications during its last admission, but due to inadequacy of space, only 1,300 students were admitted,’’ he said.
Mpandiok urged the government to provide a training ship for the academy.
According to him, the academy currently has about 3,000 cadets running different courses, adding, however, that it was ready to admit more cadets if the facilities were expanded.