A fortnight ago, we wrote that ‘there will be no EU ban on Filipino crews‘. We’ll make a bolder prediction this time: an EU thumbs up notwithstanding, there will be no dramatic change in the general quality of Philippine maritime schools. No doubt, there will be some excellent ones, as there always have been, but a sea-change in local seafarer education? It’s not going to happen in the next five years for two important reasons:
• Influence of the old-boy network – State agencies administering seafarers and seafarer education have never been magnets for bright merchant marine professionals because of the low pay. As a result, they’ll continue to rely on private individuals who are linked by old alliances or come from the same schools to comprise the ‘technical working groups’ and inspect maritime training institutions. Nothing wrong with having an old boys’ club (they can be found in other countries). The problem arises when friendships and favour-giving take precedence over rules and regulations.
• The assembly-line syndrome – The nation has become too obsessed with remaining the world’s top crew supplier. Some folks in Manila are talking about Filipino seafarers raising their global market share to 50% from roughly 25-30%. This has created a mind-set which regards education, not as a process for the rounded development of the individual, but as a means for supplying more warm bodies to foreign shipowners. It’s become a numbers game.
Closing down the diploma mills is necessary but it’s not enough. Maritime education is more than a question of training equipment, instructors or QA systems. It also has to do with the society and culture in which the schools operate and the values of those who run the schools. Lose sight of this, and you miss the central problem. ~Barista Uno
