ICAO, NCAA Recertify NCAT, as Rector Appeals for Capital Projects’ Fund

•Says Boeing 737 simulator to commence operations

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have recertified the country’s premier aviation training institution, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), located in Zaria, Kaduna State, after both bodies declared that the college met required standards.

Acting Rector of the college, Mr. Joseph Imalighwe, speaking on Sunday, described the feat as an enviable one for the training institution.

Imalighwe added that his mission was to take NCAT to a level where training will be refocused, as the college was moving away from the traditional training to the digital model.

He said NCAT was in association with a number of training institutions and universities to improve its curriculum.

The acting rector called on the federal government to increase allocation to the college to enable it meet its capital project expenditure. He affirmed that NCAT’s status as ICAO TrainAir Plus Training Centre of Excellence required more resources to continuously improve the college.

He disclosed that the leading aviation training institution recently established the Airport Emergency Training (AET) School to offer initial fire fighter courses, competence aircraft live fire simulator, and fire-fighting course and airport emergency procedure course.

Imalighwe said the college had made giant strides in the last one year since he assumed office. He said he recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and other organisations for training, but required massive funding to complete some capital projects that will ensure it met the needs of its students.

He said NCAT currently contributed averagely 45 per cent of the aviation industry licensed personnel requirements.

However, Imalighwe said, “it is faced with challenges ranging from inadequate training facilities, like hostel accommodation and classrooms, high cost of aviation gasoline, and inadequate number of required specialised instructors due to high attrition to the industry.

“Others include encroachment on the college land, security of college premises, aged college buildings, inadequate budgetary envelope while the staff remains the lowest remunerated in the aviation industry.”

Speaking on the college’s Boeing 737 simulator that had remained inactive for some time, the rector disclosed that Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had sent experts who came and evaluated it.

He said, “They will soon start work on it so that it will be functioning in earnest once NCAA certifies it.

“The college and NCAA are closely working together assiduously to ensure it come on board as the minister has already sent people to look at it. We want the federal government to increase our annual budget, we need lecture theatres, offices, meeting rooms, hostels.

“We require the purchase of a fire tender to be dedicated for the airport emergence training school. We also require about 200 computers for the ICT centre as well as capacity training for the college instructors.”

Imalighwe commended the minister stating.

He said, “We have a minister who is cooperating with us since we came into the office. I have also received maximum cooperation from all staff, especially with the management staff, and that have helped us a lot.

“The ICAO Centre of Excellence regional officials just came to recertify us after three years, we do recertification with ICAO after three years, and they wrote very good things about the college.

Even NCAA came a week after the ICAO officials to recertify us also. We have smooth sailing with those organisations.”

Imalighwe added, “In spite of the short period training has been sustained, MOU has been sustained, the college has undergone tremendous improvement in areas of facility upgrade and development of new ones, staff has been undergoing various trainings. We are trying to sustain it.

“We have just bought Zaria Hotel because we understand the limitation of accommodation within the college, the contractor is starting renovation works. The hostels are not enough and the building of our guest 150 rooms, the contractor has taken possession of the place so that he will start construction.

“The college’s fire simulator is working very well, the simulator that we have challenges with is the flight simulator, the Boeing 737 simulator. The minister has sent some people to come and evaluate it, they will soon start work on it so that will be functioning in earnest once NCAA certifies it because, initially, they said they needed training on it to be able to do the certification.

“We want the federal government to increase our funding particularly in the areas of capital projects. Our budget envelop is way too small considering the ongoing project we have at hand.”

Imalighwe said the college had an average annual budget of N3 billion, but ongoing projects at the college had tripled, making the allocation quite insignificant.

“So it will require more funding to enable us achieve our objectives to take the college to greater heights,” the rector said.