Senate's Green Signal to Caribbean Maritime University
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Saturday, February 25, 2017
The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will now gain university status, following the passage of legislation in both Houses of Parliament to effect this.
Not a single senator opposed the bill to make way for the Caribbean Maritime Institute Act, to now be known as the Caribbean Maritime University Act.
Government Senator Kavan Gayle has suggested that lending institutions offer preferential terms and interest rates to students who are pursuing courses at CMI.
Opposition Senator Angela Brown Burke advised that CMI also stressed the importance of financing, and that it should not become a barrier to access given the critical role of the CMI in the country’s development.
The infrastructural capacity at the CMI is to be strengthened to the tune of $310 million for technological equipment, which will, in turn, enable the institution to deliver best-quality training in logistics, freight forwarding, immigration and other border protection-related areas.
“According to the institution’s statistics, 87 per cent of CMI graduates were placed in jobs within six months of graduation,” Science, Energy and Technology Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley said while signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), under which his ministry, through the Universal Service Fund, formerly the Universal Access Fund, will donate the funds.
Dr Wheatley said that the funds would facilitate phase 2 of the CMI’s capacity building and expansion project, which is valued at $310 million.