The Commission on Higher Education, or CHEd, is set to pilot early this year an assessment test for incoming maritime students, according to its chairperson Prospero de Vera III.

"We already signed a contract. We will make an assessment test for all incoming maritime students. It's like an NMAT  (National Medical Admission Test)," De Vera told the Daily Tribune in an interview over the weekend.

"So, the schools can require the students to take this assessment test so that they can choose which of the students they will accept in the maritime program," De Vera added.

According to De Vera, that is one issue that EMSA [European Maritime Safety Agency] is raising–what are the standards of Philippine maritime schools in the admission of students.

"So, there would be one assessment given to all potential maritime students, and then based on the score they get, the scores can now apply that for their admission policies," he said.

Currently and in the past, each maritime school in the Philippines has their own admission test, De Vera said.

"You don't know what is being measured by that. At least this one has only one measurement, it's up to the school which score it would adopt," he said.

"We will pilot it [the assessment test] this year. I think it is expected by the first quarter of this year," the CHEd chief added.

The commission has also revised the curriculum for maritime education as part of its commitment to EMSA to be able to produce world-class seafarers.