Aviation center offers pilot training for free<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
TANGERANG, West Java (JP): Who says it costs a lot of money to
\nbecome a pilot? Not the prestigious flying school here, which
\nseeks to break new ground through their subsidized programs at
\nthe Curug Aviation Training Center (CATC).<\/p>\n
Under the management of the Ministry of Transportation, the
\nCATC offers free education for those who pass all enrollment
\ntests.<\/p>\n
"Not only do the students not have to pay, they even get a
\nmonthly allowance, though it is not much," I Dewa Putu Suma,
\ndirector of the training center, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
High school graduates interested in CATC have to take a series
\nof difficult tests, including an aptitude test.<\/p>\n
Established in 1952, CATC's drop-out rate was once as high as
\n50 percent. Since requiring the aptitude test in 1975, however,
\nthe drop-out rate has plummeted to between 10 and 20 percent,
\naccording to Suma.<\/p>\n
The number of students who enroll at CATC is increasing.<\/p>\n
Santo Budiono, head of the Education and Training Agency of
\nthe Transportation Ministry, said there were almost 19,000 high
\nschool students who took the enrollment tests this year compared
\nto 11,250 students in the previous year. The school generally
\naccept between 300 to 400 new students each year, who then learn
\nhow to become pilots, technicians, mechanics and air traffic
\ncontrollers.<\/p>\n
In the past it admitted 60 new students to the flying section.
\nBut starting next January, the school will accept 120 students,
\ndue to today's high demand for pilots.<\/p>\n
Budiono said that Indonesia would need 1,180 new pilots within
\nthe next five years. The country's existing five flying schools,
\nthe CATC, Juanda, Aviando, Deriya, and Sarana Flying Club, still
\nproduce fewer than 100 graduates yearly.<\/p>\n
"Next year the Curug Aviation Training Center will improve its
\nstatus as an aviation institute," Budiono said.<\/p>\n
They will add 46 new single engine aircraft, seven double
\nengine aircraft and five advanced turbo prop aircraft to the
\nschool's collection, which also owns 24 single engine aircrafts
\nand three twin engine aircrafts at present.<\/p>\n
"We will be the only flying school with the advanced turbo
\nprop aircraft," Budiono said.<\/p>\n
The prospective pilots will also have to study longer, from 18
\nmonths now to two years, Suma said.<\/p>\n
The government has allocated Rp 61 million in educational
\nmoney for pilots and between Rp 10 to 11 million for students of
\nother disciplines.<\/p>\n
"If they want to work for a private airliner once they
\ngraduate, the company has to return their training costs," Suma
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
So far the school has produced 1,445 pilots, including four
\nwomen.<\/p>\n
Denying any discrimination against women, he said that the
\nschool has exactly the same enrollment requirements for both men
\nand women.<\/p>\n
According to the school, there are so few female graduates
\nbecause the number of women registering in the school is also
\nsmall.<\/p>\n
Foreigners<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Budiono closed an eight-week advanced course on
\nairworthiness, which was held under the program of Technical
\nCooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) meeting in Karachi
\nin 1992.<\/p>\n
Thirteen participants from Uganda, Maldives, Suriname, China,
\nIran and Indonesia took part in the course.<\/p>\n
Suma said that since 1979 CATC had graduated 213 people
\nthrough 12 advanced courses for participants from 19 developing
\ncountries in the Asia- Pacific region.<\/p>\n
Before the Karachi meeting, CATC held the courses on the
\nsubjects of airworthiness, avionic, gas turbine and helicopter
\nmaintenance in cooperation with United Nations Development
\nProgram (UNDP), which provided financial assistance to the
\nparticipants. UNDP later stopped funding the program, but it
\ncontinued as the participating countries agreed to allocate funds
\nfor the courses as declared in their 1992 meeting.<\/p>",
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