Sylhet Bureau :
Bangladesh Marine Academy has opened a new door for the development of education in Sylhet. Just as the Padma Bridge will help the people of the southern region to live a modern life, another chapter has been added to the educational field of Sylhet region through the establishment of this Marine Academy. This is what the leaders of civil society in this region think.
The image of the rural environment of Sylhet Sadar Upazila has also changed through the establishment of this institution. It has created a new atmosphere in the entire area around this institution.
Sylhet Marine Academy with modern facilities built on the banks of Chengerkhal River near the newly constructed Sylhet Central Jail on the outskirts of Sylhet city is playing an important role in producing skilled sailors to conquer the world seas.
According to academy sources, in 2012, the current Awami League-led government took the initiative to set up four marine academies in Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpar and Pabna. Under this project, with the efforts of former Member of Parliament of Sylhet-1 Constituency and former Minister of Finance Abul Mal Abdul Muhith, 10 acres were acquired in June 2012 for the establishment of Sylhet Marine Academy, Sylhet’s first waterway educational institution, along the clear water Chengerkhal River in Badaghat area of Hatkhola Union of Sylhet Sadar Upazila. Land acquisition process started. Later on 17 September 2013, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the official foundation stone of its work. Infrastructure construction work of Sylhet Marine Academy started in full swing from April 2015 under the supervision of Public Works Department under the Ministry of Shipping at a cost of 107 crore 31 lakh taka. Before this, the soil filling and other works of this project were completed. Under the project, 20 small and big multi-storied buildings have been constructed. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially inaugurated this institution on May 6, 2021.
The buildings constructed at Sylhet Marine Academy include a picturesque academic building, dormitory, five residential buildings, gymnasium, Drishtinandan mosque, parade ground, swimming pool, marine workshop, pump house, sub-station and generator building, underground reservoir, deep tubewell, compound drain, approach Road, boundary wall and Shaheed Minar.
Farooq Mahmud Chowdhury, President of Conscious Citizens Committee (SANAK) Sylhet said that the Marine Academy will play a positive role in the field of education in the region. He thinks that not only the ease of education but also the surrounding areas will develop.
Commandant of Sylhet Marine Academy, Captain I. K. Taimur said, 70 cadets have been admitted in the first batch of Marine Academy. Among which there are 35 students in engineering and nautical branches. The main goal of Marine Academy is to create skilled manpower of international standard, earn foreign exchange and create employment. Already the second batch admission process is going on here.
