Bandari Maritime Academy is the leading institution in Kenya for maritime education and training. IMAGE/USER-GENERATED CONTENT.. By ANDREW MWANGURA. [email protected]. Kenya, endowed with over 500 kilometers of coastline and ambitious aspirations for a sustainable blue economy, has overlooked the pressing necessity to overhaul its maritime education system. The recent turmoil within our Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions is not simply a matter of discipline; rather, it highlights significant underlying issues that require urgent resolution. With experience as a merchant mariner and involvement in maritime education, I assert that a thorough and well-organized strategy is critical to address this persistent crisis. The MET institutions in Kenya are currently facing a severe confluence of systemic challenges. Curricula that fail to meet international standards, especially the STCW Convention, are only part of the issue. There is a critical deficiency in practical training opportunities, infrastructure is severely lacking, connections with the maritime industry are limited, and the governance system is unclear, leading to student disillusionment and inadequate support. Consequently, there is a generation of young individuals eager to pursue careers at sea, whose ambitions are being undermined by these prevailing systemic issues. When students voice their grievances, they are frequently addressed with short-term fixes instead of substantive changes. The ongoing pattern of crisis handling and temporary solutions has damaged the trust between students and educational institutions. As a result, Kenya’s maritime workforce is mostly underutilized, hindering our goals for a flourishing blue economy. What is required in Kenya is not yet another temporary committee to produce another report that will ultimately be ignored. Rather, we should take a thoughtful, step-by-step strategy that tackles both urgent concerns and the fundamental changes required for the renewal of the sector. To begin, it is essential to conduct an honest evaluation of the present situation. This involves assessing MET institutions based on global benchmarks, addressing student complaints firsthand, and pinpointing deficiencies in faculty skills, facilities, and available resources.
