The Durban University of Technology is the new base for teaching South African Navy students basic navigation skills.

The University’s Maritime Studies Department was recently entrusted to handle this task by the SA Navy effective from January 2013.

In the past, the SA Navy would accept approximately 25 students in its programme. The number of candidates has since doubled, making it difficult for the navy to accommodate all candidates. To lighten the weight, the Navy then approached the DUT Department of Maritime Studies to develop a short general navigation course.

“The arrangement is such that DUT will offer basic navigation while the SA Navy looks after the military part of the training,” said the Department’s Lecturer Leon Govender. The DUT course will run for a semester. In the first term, the institution will take on 25 students while the other half of the group goes for military training in the Navy base in Simon’s Town, Cape Town. The process will be reversed in the second term to accommodate the group at Simon’s Town.

Four DUT Maritime Studies Lectures have been appointed to teach the students daily. The time schedule for this course does not interfere with that of the national diploma, explained Govender. By the end of the programme, the students will be awarded DUT certificates.

“At the moment, the course is running informally. But, hopefully it will be offered as a formal Higher Certificate (NQF 5) by 2015,” Govender added. Facilitating this course provides a third-stream income for the Maritime Studies Department, with funds raised from this set to go towards staff and student.

— Naledi Hlefane

Caption: Looking dashing in their uniform, this is the first group of SA Navy students to enroll for the general navigation course now offered at DUT as part of an agreement between the SA Navy and the DUT Maritime Studies Department as from the beginning of this year (2013).