Curriculum to meet EU standards on maritime education implemented

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has started implementing this school year a standardized curriculum for BS Marine Transportation (BSMT) and BS Marine Engineering (BSMArE) to meet the European Union (EU) standards on maritime education.

 CHED commissioner Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista said the new curriculum is “competency-based” and conforms to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

 She said all maritime schools nationwide must implement their revised syllabi by next school year.

 CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan signed this month CHED Memorandum Orders (CMO) No. 31 and 32, which contained the revised curricula for BSMT and BS MarE.  CMOs 31 and 32 complement CMOs 13 and 14, Bautista said. “The CMOS 31 and 32 are more aligned with the STCW,” she said.

 A team from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) arrived Tuesday in the country for its final audit of the country’s maritime industry.

 The team will inspect maritime training institutions in the country to check if the deficiencies discovered in its 2010 audit have been addressed.

 The audit was in line with the Philippines’ commitment to the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

 The EMSA audit will help the body to decide whether or not to allow Filipino seafarers to continue to work in European Union-flagged vessels.

Some of the deficiencies discovered in the EMSA 2010 audit were related to the monitoring of maritime education and training institutions (METIs), the quality standards system, requirements for seafarers certification requirements for on-board training, implementation of the Management Level Courses, and the equipment of maritime training institutions.

 Early this year CHED has ordered the phaseout and closure of 123 out of 157 offering “delinquent” maritime training programs nationwide.

 The country is a leading supplier of seafarers, accounting for about 25 percent of the global total. Their remittances contribute significantly to the growth of the Philippine economy.

From 2006 to 2009, 234,267 Filipino seafarers were deployed on EU-flagged ships, with 79,111 deployed in 2009 alone, or 24 percent of the total for that year. (Helen M. Flores)