Around hundred ex-cadets of Bangladesh Marine Academy yesterday formed a human chain in Chittagong city’s Agrabad area, protesting the alleged irregularities and corruptions in marine sector of the country.
The protesters also sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention in protecting the country’s brightest marine sectors and demanded a solution to the ongoing visa related problems of marine cadets aspiring to go abroad.
The ex-cadets formed a human chain in front of the city’s Agrabad CGA Building 1 around 10:30am.
Speakers at the programme alleged that despite a number of cadets successfully graduate every year from 17 marine academies of the country, both private and government, there were no job opportunities in the local market.
And the marine officers who do manage to get a job in a renowned foreign company, they fail to join their voyage because of visa related issues, the speakers added.
Saiful Islam, a junior officer of 45th batch of Bangladesh Marine Academy, said marines who aspire for a job in UAE, India and Singapore mainly faces the visa related issues, eventually losing a good opportunity abroad.
He alleged that a section of officials and staff had recruited ineligible marine officers in foreign ships by forging certificates (COC and CDC) which was tarnishing the country’s image aboard.
According to the protesters, private marine academies also fail to offer any job to the graduates though the institutions claim of 100% job placement during admission.
The marine cadets demanded that the government should form a visa academy to fix the ongoing problem immediately and identify the corrupt officials in the sector.
The protesters also demanded a government monitored maritime council in concerned maritime countries and urged the authorities concerned to stop admissions in all marine academies until jobs for unemployed ex-cadets were ensured.
