The local branch of PMI-Colleges in this city is happy to announce that it was spared from the ax of the Commission on Higher Education phasing out two marine-related courses offered by its two branches in Manila and Quezon City. This was announced last week by Director Misoro Salamera of PMI Colleges-Bohol in an interview over the top rated radio program “Cuentas Claras”. He said students taking marine and nautical programs offered by PMI Colleges here need not worry because the phase out was only good for students of PMI Colleges campuses in Manila and Quezion City. PMI Colleges in this city is unfazed by the order of CHED simply because it is not affected by such directive, said Salamera in the same interview.

Salamera said that he is just elated over the exclusion of the school said to be the pioneer in offering marine courses in the province. A copy of such order furnished by Salamera showed that CHED en banc has passed Resolution No. 092-2011, as amended by Resolution No. 139-2011, closing down the following courses: Bachelor of Sciences in Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering of PMI Colleges in Manila and Quezon city campuses. The order, effective second semester of schoolyear 2011-2012, was issued due to “consistent failure of the school to comply with the standards of the said programs in accordance with the STCW and the CHED requirements.” It added that there will be no new students to be admitted taking the said courses being phase-out, and “the students of the other year levels  shall be transferred to other CHED compliant and recognized programs that shall accept said students.”

The order is contained in the Notice to the Public dated October 14, 2011 signed by Executive Director IV lawyer Julito D. Vitriolo CESO III. Meanwhile, Salamera said there’ll be no tuition hike this school-year apparently due economic reasons. With the no-tuition-hike-policy of the school, enrolment is expected to increase to some 4,514 for second semester of schoolyear 2011-2012, higher than 4,045 in the same period last school year. Its population or enrollees grew to some 5,010 during the first semester of SY 2011-2012 as compared to 4,200 in the same period last year, Salamera said. (RVO)