Foreign students surge boosting forex inflow at NCAT, Zaria – Ismaila

The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, is emerging as a key destination for aviation training in Africa, attracting foreign students and generating foreign exchange. Danjuma Ismaila, rector and chief executive officer of NCAT, disclosed this during the graduation of 13 international students in Abuja after six weeks of training. The students were from Cameroon, Rwanda, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Benin—mostly French-speaking countries—and underwent intensive English language instruction tailored to aviation communication. The programme included classroom drills on pronunciation, vocabulary and grammatical structures used in aviation, followed by fluency and comprehension exercises, progress tests and mastery assessments.

They also completed on-the-job training at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), where they visited the control tower, radar, ground control, aero communication and AIS departments. Weekend placements with six host families in Abuja allowed them to practice spoken English in real-life settings, boosting their confidence. Ismaila noted that a similar batch from EAMAC, Niger Republic, graduated last year with a 100 percent success rate. He credited NCAT's reputation to the quality and intensity of its training programmes. Despite this success, Ismaila said limited funding and infrastructure are constraining the institution's capacity to expand. He urged the Federal Government to increase support, stating, "We can do more, with more funding and better infrastructure."