The Hindu Business Line : DGS proposes new norms for marine training institutes

As part of the guidelines, it has been suggested that the training institutes, especially in the light of the shortage of training ships, introduce the `ship in campus' concept.

Mumbai , Jan. 7

A MARINE engineering student enrolled with a training institute located far away from a shipyard or a ship repair yard will no more have to travel long distances to have a hands-on experience.

For, they can now have a similar training right on the campus, thanks to the `ship in campus' concept proposed for the training institutes by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS).

The DG Shipping has proposed a set of new guidelines for various streams of engineering training in the pre-sea and post-sea phases that are aimed at honing the quality of training to bring it on par with those offered by the developed flag administrations.

Said an official of the DGS: "In India, owing to the privatisation of training and the dearth of good training slots in major ship repair and shipbuilding yards, there has been a paradigm shift in the philosophy of training. With the accent now on quality training, it has become all the more necessary that comprehensive guidelines need to be issued to all training institutions (in this sector) so that the philosophy and objectives are uniform."

The guidelines are also expected to result in an improvement in the quality of students, trainees and engineer officers who pass out of the training institutes.

As part of the guidelines, it has been suggested that the training institutes, especially in the light of the shortage of training ships, introduce the `ship in campus' concept. This would also enable institutes in remote areas to provide the same level of training as would be available in shipyards and ship repair yards.

The guidelines also seek to make it mandatory for marine engineers to be associated with professional bodies right from the inception of training. Also, the concept of an internal rating system has been proposed, enabling an institution to rate its performance for mid-course corrections. Further, for the first time, the guidelines spell out the various types of credit ratings, assessment procedure and monitoring bodies, which have been in control all along, so that the institutions can get a fair idea of the type of quality that is expected at all times.