Senate Passes Bill Placing Aviation College Under TETFUND
The Senate, on Tuesday, passed the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Aviation.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC/Kogi-West), in his presentation, said the bill seeks to provide for the organisation, control and operation of training programmes related to the aviation sector and other related matters.
According to him, the bill also seeks to provide the skills required for aircraft manufacturing, distribution, installation, maintenance and operation of technical equipment to increase the margin of operational safety of civil aircraft services.
The senator said the college is currently accredited by the National Board for Technical Education to run National Diploma and Higher National Diploma courses.
He added that the college admits ND and HND students through the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, while its graduates are eligible to participate in the National Youth Service Corps.
Adeyemi explained that the bill’s passage and eventual assent into law would legalise the new status of the college and enable it to be listed by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to benefit from the fund.
The senator added being a TETFUND beneficiary would “allow it (college) to fill significant gaps through the fund”.
The lawmaker said the bill’s passage would also provide the needed legal backing for the college as a regional training centre of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Meanwhile, two bills seeking to establish the Chartered Risk Institute of Nigeria, he National Research and Innovation Council and the National Research and Innovation Foundation have scaled second reading in the Senate.
The bills were sponsored by Senators Tolupe Odebiyi (Ogun-West) and Frank Ibezim (Imo-North), respectively.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, referred the bills to the Committees on Establishment and Public Service Matters, and Science and Technology, respectively.
Both committees were given four weeks each to report back to the upper chamber in plenary.
