By ImeAkpan
Lagos
The minister of aviation, Mr. OsitaChidoka has revealed the federal government’s plan to acquire training aircraft for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria will soon acquire new fleet of training aircraft.
Chidoka who announced this in Zaria at the 50th anniversary celebration of the college said the institution must continue to live up to its expectation and “to achieve this, government is at the verge of awarding contract to re-fleet the training aircraft.”
Chidoka said the purchase of a B737 simulator for the college was a testimony of the federal government’s transformation programme in the aviation sector.
He said the country would depend on NCAT for the training of the needed manpower for its bourgeoning aviation sector.
He added that zero-tolerance for accident in the sector would be achieved through training and re-training of aviation personnel.
“We are not only restoring the days of glory of NCAT but changing the frontier to becoming the leading training college in Africa. The next 50 years of the college will be glorious and that has just started with the celebrations,” he said.
In his speech the rector of the college, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick said the college had impacted greatly on the landscape of aviation development in the country and the West African sub-region.
Currently, he said interim accreditation pending the amendment of the college’s enabling act had been granted by the National Board for Technical Education (NABTEC) for the award of both the ordinary and higher national diploma certificates.
Caulcrick however said NCAT was in dire need of upgrades for effectiveness adding that most of the administrative buildings and residential quarters needed prompt attention.
He catalogued the college’s challenges to include, but not limited to dependence largely on subsidy and fiscal allocations from the federation account.
He said the continued operation of the college would depend on its economic health pointing out that NCAT would require infrastructural and equipment upgrade to increase capacity in classrooms and hostels.
The rector also called on the federal government to intervene in the encroachment of the college land by the host communities saying “the college needs to re-possess the large hectares of land to actualize, as a matter of necessity, the expansion of the runway where encroachment has become a big threat to NCATs existence for safe operation.”
