The Chairman Governing Council, International Aviation College (AIC), Ilorin, Alhaji Ahmad Yusuf Gobir has revealed that the college has trained 252 pilot and students since inception 10 years ago even as he called on the state government to reintroduce a system where local governments would be mandated to sponsor a student for every academic session.
Alhaji Ahmad Yusuf Gobir made the call in Ilorin this weekend while speaking at a press briefing ahead of the inauguration of the Members of the Board of the college.
According to him, the system which was in place during the last administration would go a long way in building the capacity of Kwarans in the aviation industry if reintroduced.
The chairman also said the college had trained 252 pilots and students between 2010 and 2020 in various courses adding that most of the pilots trained by the college are private pilots including personnel from the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Navy, Police.
He said that the college could not afford to put many indigenes on scholarship because of the training cost for a student which is N12.5m.
He attributed low enrolment of private students to cost of tuition fee, saying that N12.5m per student might be expensive for individuals.
“Several Nigerians cannot afford the N12.5m fee charged by the college. This is responsible for low enrolment since the establishment of the college in 2010,” he said.
Gobir appealed to the 16 local government chairmen in the state to sponsor a student each annually as a way of increasing the internally generated revenue of the college and build the capacity of younger generation in aviation industry.
The Chairman explained that the college currently had three functional aircrafts and identified the high cost of spare parts for the maintenance of the facilities as a major challenge confronting the institution.
He said that the college with the help of the state government has recruited well experienced people in all administrative positions and with their inputs, things are done in line with rules and regulations.
