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WELCOME TO BANGLADESH MARINE FISHERIES ACADEMY

Marine Fisheries Academy (MFA) trains male and female cadets for the deep sea-going fishing vessels, merchant ships, fish processing plants and other maritime industries. The cadets of MFA used to be awarded with the B.Sc.(Pass) certificates in Nautical Science, Marine Engineering and Marine Fisheries from National University, Gazipur, Bangladesh. These training also satisfy the requirement of STCW IMO Convention to serve as an officer onboard fishing, merchant vessels and also in shore as processing technologists.

Recently Marine Fisheries Academy is affiliated with the" Bangabundhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh" for 4 years B.Sc. (Hons.) program in Nautical Science, Marine Engineering and Marine Fisheries courses.

Cadets officially complete their training through a national colourful ceremony namely "Passing out Parade" which is normally held with the presence of the Honourable Minister of Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock. This is the most vibrant event in the academy campus and for which the cadets keep on waiting in which they carry out march-past and show the appropriate marks of respect to the Chief Guest. Cadets also take oath to serve at sea and awarded with certificates of Pre-sea training and graduation. Simultaneously, Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) is also issued to the cadets of Nautical and Marine Engineering departments by the Department of Shipping which allows them to look south to venture out all the seas around the globe.

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

After the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971; National Leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman observed lack of skilled manpower for judicious exploitation and harvesting of marine fisheries resources. Then he called for a national institution to train and educate personnel for Bangladesh maritime fisheries industries which began in 1972. That time it was also the beginning of a rapid technological change in the deep sea fishing with the introduction of large and sophisticated deep sea fishing vessels. The Government realized that without skilled manpower i.e. qualified officers, the growth of an efficient fishing fleet would be impossible.

Marine Fisheries Academy was established in 1973 to produce skilled manpower for fishing fleet with the collaboration of the then Soviet Government. Academy started journey as a project of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) on 01 September 1973. Cadets of this academy use to get scholarships from Soviet Government for MS and PhD. More than 70 cadets from this academy completed MS and PhD and working in different sectors in home and abroad. After the death of national leader, scholarships were halted and forcefully Soviet instructors were removed from the academy.

Academy came under the administrative control of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock as a project on 20 April 1988, shifted to revenue budget under the same ministry on 01 July 1993 and continuing till to date. The functional authority of the academy is vested on to the Principal who has three assisting organs namely Academic Council, Board of Studies and Board of Discipline . Now, The academy provides quality maritime education in a well planned and organised manner to develop skilled human resources for fishing and maritime sector.

In 1998, 02 years B.Sc. pass graduation courses were introduced under National University. In 2013 the courses were upgraded to 03 years B.Sc. program and in 2018 all the courses upgraded into 04 years Honours program.

Beside male seafarers, females are also coming forward to contribute in the maritime sector. Female cadet first joined in this academy in 2010 and now contributing in Blue Economy of the country.

Most of the passed out cadets of this academy are serving in the fishing fleet operating in the Bay of Bengal and in shore based fish processing plants. Many are also now working in different maritime organisations around the globe therefore contributing directly to the national economy. So far, 1800 cadets (up to 36st batch) have been graduated successfully from MFA. Among those about 1200 cadets is now serving in international maritime sector thus Bangladesh earning about US$57.60 million (assuming US$ 48,000/cadet/year) as foreign remittance annually. This clearly justifies that MFA is very prospective institution for Bangladesh for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

LOCATION OF ACADEMY

LOCATION

OF

ACADEMY

Marine Fisheries Academy situated on a beautiful landscape on the southern bank of the river Karnaphully, opposite the Sadarghat, Chittagong. Its geographical position is 22⁰ 19.0’ N latitude, 91⁰ 49.8’ E longitude, which is about 1(one) km from the city center.

Academic Council

ACADEMIC COUNCIL

In order to bring transparency of all actions related to training and other relevant works, an Academic Council has been formed by the Minis1try of Fisheries and Livestock under the Chairmanship of Principal. The Academic Council comprises of the Principal, three Departmental Heads of the Academy, a representative of the Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, a representative of the Director General, Department of Fisheries and Provost of Cadet Block. The Council is the chief academic adviser to the Principal and Ministry, and has a general responsibility for setting different academic standards and maintaining them. The Academic Council normally sits in every two months and also as and when it is essential to assemble for certain major decision.

Administrative Control

ADMINISTRATIVE

CONTROL OF THE ACADEMY

Academy started its journey as a project of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) and on 20 April 1988 it came under the administrative control of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock as a project. But on 01 July 1993 the Academy was transferred to revenue budget under the same Ministry. Since then the Academy is functioning under the Administrative control of the Ministry. The functional authority of the Academy is vested on the Principal who has three assisting organs namely Academic Council, Board of Studies and Board of Discipline. The Academy has officers and staffs to carry out the instructional duties, as well as, administrative functions. To cover up the shortage of permanent instructors the Academy has number of required regular visiting lecturers as well. The Academy is having three departments and an administrative wing, which is organized as per the following diagram of the organogram of the Academy:

ORGANOGRAM OF THE ACADEMY

Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock

Principal

Nautical Department

Engineering Department

Marine Fisheries Department

Academic Curriculum

ACADEMIC CURRICULUM

Cadets’ Training

In the Academy the cadets are reshaped and hardened to face the challenging job of a mariner. They are imparted theoretical and practical training with the aid of modern training appliances as per international standard under the guidance of qualified Instructor. Cadets are prepared mentally and physically for rigorous sea life and are imbued with the themes of professionalism. The Academy is affiliated with National University of Bangladesh and the syllabus of the cadets has been designed for Bachelor degree of three years duration. At present, yearly 48 cadets are being recruited and they are being divided into three branches. These branches are Nautical Branch, Marine Engineering Branch and Marine Fisheries Branch and their degrees are B.Sc. (Pass) Nautical, B.Sc. (Pass) Engineering and B.Sc. (Pass) Marine Fisheries respectively. As per existing policy out of 48 cadets, 20 cadets get Nautical Branch, 20 cadets get Marine Engineering Branch and 08 cadets get Marine Fisheries Branch. It is worth mentioning here that the Academy has the flexibility to increase the yearly intake if it is essential.

Theoretical Training

Being basically a professional training institution adequate emphasis is laid for specialization in the field of nautical, marine engineering and marine fisheries science so as to build up a sound foundation. To re-enforce this foundation and facilitate comprehension of the professional subjects, reasonable stress is given in the academic subjects also. This helps polishing the academic talent, develops the personality of the cadet, makes him a well-informed all rounder and, above all, broadens the horizon of his outlook which are essential ingredients to be a successful officer on board.

Practical Training

The practical training consists of sailing, rowing, signaling, semaphore and evolutions. Practical training in technical subjects is imparted in Engineering Workshop / Bridge & Rader simulator / Engine room simulator / Fish Processing Lab /Quality control / Physics / Electrical /Mechanical /Biological / Seamanship Laboratories. In addition, regular visits under the supervision of competent Instructor are organized to the ships in the harbor / shore establishment and also to the important Scrap yard/ Dry dock / Mills / Factories so that the cadets acquire a first hand knowledge of machinery and their operation, maintenance and industrial practice.

Ancillary Courses

As per IMO regulation cadets have to attend some mandatory ancillary courses, namely Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting, Personal Survival Technique, Personal Safety & Social Responsibility and Medical Emergency / Elementary Medical First Aid courses before employment on board the ship. As such, cadets undertake these courses in different authorized training institutions during their practical training under the arrangement of the Academy.The course fees are borne by the cadets themselves.

Training System

TRAINING SYSTEM

The total duration of training of the cadets is three years Out of that 1^st and 2^nd year training is conducted in the Academy to cover the theoretical aspects of professional and academic subjects. On completion of each year, they attend year final examination conducted by the National University. In the 3^rd year they undergo practical sea training for 24 weeks on board deep sea fishing vessels and the rest of the 3^rd year covers industrial training, practice and ancillary courses. On successful completion of these courses they appear final examination under National University. Thereafter the Marine Fisheries Academy training culminates with the passing out parade and award of graduation certificates.

Dimension of Training

DIMENSION

OF

TRAINING

Training in Marine Fisheries Academy has four dimensions. Through out their stay in the academy cadets are trained on four major aspects as shown below :

Character Building

Development of sound and balanced character, truthfulness, honesty, hard work and dedication to duty and self respect has maximum focus in MFA training.

Professional Training

MFA Syllabus includes the professional subjects like Maritime Science (Nautical), Ship board Operations, Maritime Science (Engineering), Engineering Science, Marine Science and Post Harvest Technology.

Academic Training

MFA teaches the subjects of English, Physics, Mathematics, General Zoology, Bio-Chemistry and Bangladesh Studies.

Physical Training

MFA conducts physical training and parade, which contributes to the physical development; in addition it instills qualities like coolness, alertness, courage, self control, concentration, companionship and healthy sense of team sprit in the Cadets.