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AN
association of Dutch ship owners has pledged to give
more money to support a state-owned maritime school in
Leyte and expand its facilities to take in more
students.
The move
intends to have the school churn out more ship officers
and fill the maritime industry’s current manpower
shortage.
Dutch
maritime officials said there are talks for a funding of
at least €750,000 (P51.75 million) to put up a new
building for the Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT)
on Leyte Island.
Of the
amount, some €300,000 will coming from the Dutch
government through the Netherlands’ Ministry of
Transport, Public Works and Water Management; and
€450,000 will come from Rotterdam-based Royal
Association of Netherlands Shipowners.
Robert
Hyser, acting director for Maritime Transport of The
Netherlands, said the ship owners’ group had asked for
counterpart funding from The Hague a few months ago for
the purpose of expanding the engineering course offered
by the Philippine state-owned school.
“The
money will be given directly to the school because it
lacks classrooms and workshop [areas] for engineering
students. We intend to expand the school PIT in the next
few years,” Hyser said in an interview.
Hyser,
however, said his government still has to respond on the
funding proposal of the Dutch ship owners’ group.
Should
the Dutch government decline, the ship owners said they
intend to proceed on their own.
According to R.J. de Brulin, senior policy advisor of
the Dutch Transport Ministry, the plan to expand PIT,
which is fast becoming one of the top maritime schools
in the Visayas after its students topped the recent
licensure examinations, is part of the Dutch ship
owners’ near-term plan to develop the manpower skills of
Filipino seafarers.
He said
the long-term goal is to ensure Dutch ship owners a
constant supply of officers and crew members from the
Philippines.
From
2007 to 2015, Dutch vessels will experience an estimated
yearly shortage of 200 to 300 crew members.
Dutch
fleet owners have been diverting resources to PIT since
1994 after the group decided to “adopt” the state
school, rather than put up their own school. The
alternative of funding scholarships in different schools
has also been ruled out.
Since
then PIT has been referred to as the Netherlands
Maritime Academy in the Philippines. Courses sanctioned
by local authorities adhere to standards acceptable to
Dutch fleet owners.
In 2004
some €1 million were given to the school for a
Netherlands Shipping Training Center. The facility was
inaugurated in April.
In three
to four years, the center is expected to accommodate
around 500 course participants.
Graduates—known as “Dutch” cadets—with a certificate of
competency, are offered a three-year contract by Dutch
companies.
There
are about 16,000 Dutch-owned vessels worldwide, with
22,000 crew members and officers. About 4,500 crew
members are Dutch and the rest are from other European
and Asian nations, but primarily from the Philippines.
In 1964
PIT was established as the Palompon School of Arts and
Trades. PIT was first used in 1972.
Apart
from the foreign grant, PIT receives a subsidy from
Manila, which in 2006 amounted to P60.32 million.
In 2006
a total 2,500 were enrolled with PIT. At that time the
school completed 15 research projects and conducted 23
training programs, according to its report. |
