amaBhungane writes that the Transnet Maritime School of Excellence is paraded in the media every year for its purported achievements in training young South Africans for skilled jobs in the maritime transport environment.  

However, there are disturbing indications that this rosy picture of happy graduates masks a programme that is chaotic and poorly planned, and has not provided for the practical experience that is key to young recruits receiving qualifications that are worth anything.  In addition, there are persistent rumours of nepotism and corruption swirling around the institution.  The school, based in Durban but with satellite campuses in Richards Bay, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, was established by Transnet in 2013 to address the shortage of technical skills in the maritime sector.  Transnet announced an “investigation” late last year in response to detailed questions from amaBhungane, but has provided no indication of what kind of investigation is being done, when it began, who is conducting it and what its terms of reference might be.

• Read this report by Sam Sole in at Daily Maverick

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