NAN-H-52
Training
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Nov. 23, 2017 (NAN) The Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Mr Mohammed Abdulsalam says the college still trains foreign students from Africa at its flying, aeronautic engineering and aviation management schools.
Abdulsalam made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the status of NCAT as a designated International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Regional Training Centre of Excellence (RTCE) in West Africa, would create more opportunity for patronage of more foreigners.
The rector disclosed that two students from Sudan and one from Mauritius were currently undergoing training at the college.
He further disclosed that the government of Equatorial Guinea had indicated interest to send its nationals to NCAT for training.
According to him, NCAT still attracts foreigners because right now, we have two students from Sudan undergoing training and few weeks ago, a student from the Island of Mauritius passes out from the institution.
“We are collaborating with the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to start training accident investigators and we expect to have students from other parts of West Africa.
“Also, about three weeks ago, we conducted training here in Abuja on behalf of ICAO for students from Ghana.
“So, we are still in the business of training foreigners and our being certified as a regional training centre of excellence by ICAO is going to open more opportunities for us to attract more foreign students,’’ he said
Abdulsalam said that the college was involved in training quite a number of students from francophone region of Africa on Aviation English, but had to halt it due to the insurgency.
He said NCAT team that visited the centre in Niamey was had reassured that the security situation had improved, adding that the centre had agreed to resume the cooperation.
“I trained at NCAT from 1975 to 1977, and in my class, there were four foreign students and in the class after me, there were three and then in subsequent classes we had foreign students.
“There was a complete class of all foreign students in 1980/81 at NCAT.
“NCAT had always been involved in training of foreigners, what happened over the years is that the school now started sprouting up in different parts of Africa, so there was more need for them to come in.
“During the period of apartheid in South Africa, people in that part couldn’t train there, so we had students from Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia coming to train in Nigeria,’’ he said.
NAN recalls that ICAO had presented the certificate of Centre of Excellence to the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika during the just concluded World Aviation Forum certifying NCAT as its RTCE. (NAN)
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Edited by Ese E. Ekama