State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has said that three more marine academies will be established alongside the existing five to create skilled marine cadets. Khalid said this at a meeting of the marine academies held at the meeting room of the Shipping Ministry in the capital on Monday. “There are currently a total of five marine academies in the country in Barishal, Rangpur, Sylhet, Pabna and Chattogram. Among them, the marine academy in Chattogram is an old one while the rest are newly built. We’ll establish three more marine academies as per the instruction of the Prime Minister,” said Khalid. The State Minister added that there are some challenges with the new marine academies that need to be overcome. “Mariners earn a large amount of foreign currencies working in foreign ships. That’s why we’ve decided to set up new marine academies which will create skilled marine cadets who will in turn help the development process of Bangladesh by supplying much-needed foreign currencies,” added Khalid. Read: Each division to get one marine academy: Hasina A total of 359 marine cadets from the 54th batch of Bangladesh Marine Academy have got jobs in various local and foreign ships after graduating in February. Among them, many female cadets have secured jobs in American, Australian and Singaporean ships. The State Minister also said the four newly established marine academies have received affiliations from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University. At the meeting, discussions were held on recruiting manpower, formulating a budget, buying simulators and acquiring land for the newly established marine academies.   Md Mostafa Kamal, Secretary of the Shipping Ministry, and other senior officials of the ministry were present at the meeting. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the government will establish one marine academy in each division of the country. “We’ll establish a marine academy in each division. Our children won’t only be trained here but also create the scope of employment both at home and abroad, and this is how our unemployment problem will be eradicated,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said this while speaking at the Mujib Borsho Graduation Parade of the 56th Batch of Bangladesh Marine Academy. Held at Bangladesh Marine Academy in Chattogram, the Prime Minister joined it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Read: Make overseas employment process transparent, PM asks ministry Hasina said the government has set up four marine academies in Pabna, Barishal, Rangpur and Sylhet this year in line with the global maritime demand. Describing various development activities of the government for the Marine Academy, she said an engine control simulator will be installed here this year as the navigation simulator was installed in 2019 for making training time-befitting ones at the Captain Zakaria Marine Simulation Centre. “We’ve upgraded the Marine Academy as the affiliated organisation of world-famous universities. As a result, the academy has got a wider acceptance, increasing scopes for employment,” she said. Read:Powerful poems stronger tools to motivate people: PM The Prime Minister described marine cadets as the “representatives” of Bangladesh and urged them to uphold the country’s thousand-year-old civilization and culture on the world stage. “Remember, you’re not only the fearless mariners, but also the representatives of Bangladesh. Work with patriotism, honesty, self-confidence, and professionalism. Uphold the country’s thousand-year-old civilization and culture when you travel by ships with goods from one country to another,” she said. Hasina greeted all the 359 cadets of Bangladesh Marine Academy under the 56th batch became graduates through an e-learning process confronting all the hurdles arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. She witnessed an eye-catching parade presented by a smartly turned out contingent of the fresh marine cadets. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and Shipping Secretary Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury also spoke at the event. Senior Cadet Captain Nadim Ahmed received the President Gold Medal for the best all-round performance while Chief Cadet Captain Rafid Bin Alam received Bangladesh Shipping Corporation Medal in recognition of the second-best performance among the cadets of the 56th batch. Engineer Golam Mostafa, Adjutant of the Bangladesh Marine Academy, administered oath to the fresh marine cadets while commandant of the academy Dr Sajid Hussain formally declared the graduation of all the cadets.  A video documentary on the activities of the Bangladesh Marine Academy was screened on the occasion.

The government has extended the service of Chartered Marine Engineer Dr Sajid Hussain, commandant of the Bangladesh Marine Academy, for two more years. The extension entered into force this month and will be valid till September 2023, according to a Ministry of Public Administration order issued Monday. Sajid Hussain has been serving as commandant since 2009. Before that, he had served the Academy during 1993-2009 as senior engineer instructor, chief engineer and deputy commandant and the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation during 1980-1993 as cadet engineer and chief engineer in ocean-going ships. He is also an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Maritime Ambassador, a governor at the World Maritime University's board of governors, and maritime expert of IMO and GlobalMET. Commandant Sajid obtained CoC Class ONE Marine Engineer from the UK, MSc in maritime safety administration (marine engineering) from the World Maritime University and a DSc in maritime education. He has authored 23 books, 30 research papers and over 250 features and achieved "Outstanding Contribution to Marine Education Award 2018" from IMarEST London in 2019. Commandant Sajid has enriched the Academy with international statuses like partnerships with the World Maritime University (2019); recognition of the UK Merchant Navy Training Board (2019), IMarEST London, NI London (2019), MPA Singapore (2015), and EU EMSA (2011); links with China's Dalian Maritime University, Vietnam Maritime University and Singapore Maritime Academy (2011) and Australian Maritime College (2010).