Officials from the Regional Maritime University RMU, based in Accra Ghana have visited National Polytechnic University Institute Bamenda.

The two man delegation from RMU Ghana made up of Jones Addai Marfo Academic Registrar and Alfred Ofori Abebrese head of the department of Port and Shipping arrived Bamenda Tuesday May 10, 2016. Their main mission is to access the human and material resources of National polytechnic University Institute Bamenda NPUIB School of Maritime Studies for possible affiliation.

During a round table that followed their arrival, officials from NPUIB led by Yuh Michael representative of the Management Board and the rector Dr Asongwe Emmanuel Taboh presented their competences in the area of maritime training before an exchanged that detailed academic procedures at the RMU.

The officials will later do a guided tour of NPUIB campus A, the agriculture demonstration farm in mile 10 Bambui and Campus B Mile 3 Nkwen. From what they saw, the visiting officials think NPUIB is ready to do training in Maritime studies.

According to Aduh Francis Angala Academic affairs officer and Buh Emmanuel Ndze head of the Maritime school, NPUIB already has all it takes to carry on the training but the affiliation will better the qualifications the close to 300 student who are currently studying in the school of Maritime studies will obtain at the end of their studies.

This visit according to the Rector Dr Asongwe will contribute enormously to the maturity of the NPUIB Maritime School.

Now standing as the authority in Maritime studies in the sub region, the RMU is a culmination of a 1958 initiative by Ghana’s Independence President Nkwameh Nkrumah who saw the need for the continent to assemble resources to own a regional Maritime academy which was its first name.

In October of 2007 the academy attained full university status and was launched by Former Ghanaian president John Kufuor. While the Ghana University serves the Anglophone countries amongst them Cameroon, Ivory Coast is hosting the francophone equivalence being L’academie Regional des science et Technologie de la mer, Ghana.

The officials leave Cameroon with a full file and if NPUIB is admitted they will be the first school in Cameroon with the authority to offer training in Maritme studies.