Aviation training schools become swindlers’ haven The proliferation of unregistered aviation training schools in Lagos in particular and Nigeria as a whole is giving stakeholders cause for concern as gullible students are swindled regularly by the proprietors of these schools while the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, looks the other way. Aviation unlike other modes of transportation is internationally regulated. For an employee, especially technical personnel like pilots, engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, ATC, and cabin crew among others to be certified, allowed to work and continue to operate in the sector, it is compulsory for such to go through some required trainings and regular refresher courses approved by appropriate agencies. But, several young school leavers and at times graduates who pick interest in aviation sector are swindled by unapproved aviation training schools scattered all over the country. Most of these unapproved schools operate freely in Lagos State. As at the last count, about 100 aviation training schools are offering different courses in aviation in Lagos alone, but of these massive numbers, very few of them are certified by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the International Air Transport Association, IATA, for the courses they run. Apart from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, Landover Aviation Training School, Frontier Aviation College AeroConsult Training School, International College of Aviation Technology, Ilorin, Kwara State, Sky worker Training School and a few others, that are recognised by NCAA, IATA, over 75 per cent of aviation training schools in the state are unregistered. In Nigeria today, there is a proliferation of aviation training schools offering courses ranging from cabin crew, airline revenue accounting, airfares and ticketing, safety quality assurance, quality management system and introduction to aviation management among others. These schools, which are more in the Egbeda, Oshodi, Ikotun and Ikeja areas of Lagos charge between N75, 000 and N450, 000 per session depending on the courses of students. However, the activities of these schools is giving some aviation enthusiasts sleepless nights who feel that if their activities are not nipped in the bud, may negatively affect the image of the country in the international community. Speaking on the issue, an instructor with Aeroconsult, Mr. Sam Akerele said although aviation industry is very wide, but it requires strict regulations from the NCAA. He explained that some of the aviation schools only tutor students in ticketing, but emphasised that most of the schools parading themselves as aviation training schools can never be approved by IATA as training institutions in the industry Akerele accused NCAA of not carrying out its policing of the industry properly in this area despite the fact that most of the schools are known to the management of the agency. He, however, urged NCAA to shut down unregistered aviation training schools scattered across the country, stressing that until this is done, such schools would continue to multiply in number. He said, “But the point is that we have IATA regulators in Nigeria, why don’t they go after them and shut them down? Let government know that when you want to register IATA travel agents, you must ask questions from IATA, not just CAC registration. “There are also some aviation training schools that NCAA should regulate; they don’t look after them because if you don’t close them down, they won’t serve as a deterrent to others. They are not doing their job in this area. I’ve heard from many of their big men that there are many unapproved schools, but the question is what are you doing about this? “This is very dangerous to the system because the young ones who after the Senior School Certificate Examination, SSCE, who want to go to school and learn something, will go to those schools and waste money in unapproved schools. So, they are exploiting the youths and they are not beneficial to the system.” Besides, the Chief Executive Officer, Mish Aviation College in Ghana, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia challenged the media and the NCAA to educate most of these illegal training schools to register with IATA so that their graduates could secure jobs in the sector. “You see, it is not wrong for anybody to insist that you must be recognsied before you are employed. Civil aviation has a duty to make sure that whosoever is going to carry passengers for hire and reward or fly in the airspace is registered. “I’m not sure if every part of aviation must be recognised, but those who must work around the airplane, must have categories of qualified personnel, you have administrators who must be licensed even in the universities. Airline has all kinds of license in technical people and if you must work in the technical department of an airline, you should be properly licensed and educated.” Besides, another tutor in the Sky Worker Aviation Training School, Mr. Wale Ajiboye, said it is regrettable that despite the high regulatory machinery in the aviation industry, quacks are offering different training courses in the industry. According to Ajiboye apart from some few schools certified by IATA and NCAA, most of the schools parading themselves as training schools do not meet standards in the industry. To change the current situation, he urged the NCAA not to concentrate its energy on the oversight function of the airlines and other parastatals in the industry, but to also focus its searchlights on the activities of the training schools and liaise with the ministry of education both at the state and federal levels. “I can tell you categorically that our school is certified by both the NCAA and IATA because all the courses we offer in this school meet the required international standards, but most of the schools that are offering courses on aviation are not certified by the regulatory agency. “And once you are not certified, there is no way your graduates can practice in the industry because their certificates will still have to pass through the NCAA for verification and approval. The only thing I can say is that the NCAA should work in conjunction with the ministry of education to put the situation under control,” he said. Furthermore, a source close to NCAA who does not want his name mentioned said that quack aviation schools abound in the country as a result of people’s ignorance adding for any school to be recognised, such a school must be accredited by the authority. The source said that NCAA in a bid to discourage their illegal activities is embarking on campaigns sensitising the public through several means, but noted that the agency does not have the right to close such schools. He insisted that NCAA was not established to monitor educational institutions and informed that the agency has written several letters to state and Federal governments educational boards without success. The source said, “If gullible people fall for them that is their problem; NCAA does not have the power to close down the schools because we are not established to monitor educational institutions, but we have written to state and federal educational boards. The essence of accreditation is the monitory of such schools at intervals, which we have been doing. “Aviation is a continuous thing and not what you do for sometime and stop. License are not indefinite, they have lifespan, which is two years interval. As an aviation institution, you must be accredited by us to be certified. Even to us, those schools do not exist at all.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:02:02 +0000
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