The_ImplementationOfAviationHighEducation_In_Africa

Running Head: IMPLEMENTING AN AVIATION SCHOOL IN
AFRICA 1
Implementing an Aviation School in Africa Sub-Saharan
By
Yabi M. Kidibu
A Research Project
Submitted to the Worldwide Campus
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
of Course ASCI 490, The Aeronautical Science Capstone Course,
for the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics Degree
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
June 2016

IMPLEMENTING AN AVIATION SCHOOL IN
AFRICA 2
Abstract
The study established the relevance of the implementation of an aviation tertiary education in
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the aviation safety has been the worst of the world while the
economy is growing slowly. The author argued that implementing a high aviation education will
respond to the need of the aviation industry and will contribute to the improvement of the
aviation safety implementation by training qualified entry level aviation professionals as many
studies have suggested that investing in human capital can translate into an economic
development and the aviation safety effectiveness. The study performed the hypothesis test to
verify the effect of the independent variable, “the availability of quality aviation education” on
the dependent variable, “the aviation safety implementation effectiveness.” There was no
statistically significant evidence to confirm that higher quality education alone could influence
the aviation safety implementation effectiveness. However, after a descriptive analysis of data, a
linear regression analysis, and contend analysis of studies reputable organizations, such as the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have made, the paper reemphasized the
relevance of an aviation tertiary education in SSA that reflects the small number and poor
aviation programs. After a SWOT analysis, the study proposed a public-private joint venture as
the liberalization and the integration of the air transportation services continue to be accepted by
countries member of the SSA. The public-private partnership will circumvent the reality of
poverty and low income that decreases students’ affordability and enrollment. The author
furthered the high aviation education will contribute to the local and global needs of skilled and
competent entry-level aviation professionals.

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Introduction
The impact of aviation higher education on the economy and safety of air transport
remains very relevant. The author could easily say as goes the quality of education of a country,
as goes its performances in critical areas, such as socio-economics and technology. The general
state of the collegiate school system in SSA needs improvement and continues to impede the
development of Africa. The aviation higher education system is not in evidence, and the situation
could get worse in the future if the aviation industry stakeholders do not foresee a long-term
solution. According to Canterucci (2015, p.1):
The development of highly skilled “human capital” (World Bank, 2009, p.
Xx) is increasingly considered by researchers, funding agencies, and national
governments as pivotal to economic and social development. As a result, higher
education institutions in both developed and developing countries are becoming
the keystone to national progress and regional development.
Unfortunately, the SSA demonstrates the worst performance in quality and enrollment in higher
education, and the region average aviation safety implementation effectiveness is below 61
percent representing the world average. Most aviation entry level candidates do not perform at
the same footing as their international colleagues, although the region comprises a growing
number of youth who could constitute the next generation aviation professionals at the local and
global scale, should they have an opportunity to access a quality aviation education program.
This study resembled a strategic audit of the aviation tertiary education in SSA and promoted the
implementation of a regional collegiate aviation curriculum to educate and train entry-level

AFRICA 4
professionals who could contribute to the improvement the aviation safety and the economy of
the air transportation when hired. This study could benefit the aviation industry stakeholders,
such as the countries’ Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA), Airlines, Airports, the public and
private sectors in understanding the need to invest in aviation tertiary education in SSA. Existing
institutions that provide aviation programs could learn means to update or improve their current
curriculum. Present and prospective students could also find in this study requirements to enroll
in a particular aviation program. The author supported the concept of a regional school could
work well with the policy of integration and air traffic liberalization the African continent has
been pursuing.
The author addressed first the historical background of the civil aviation before he performed a
comprehensive and comparative study of the current state of the Aviation High Education (AHE)
in contrast with the AHE in other continents. The systematic study looks at the variables such as
demography, enrollment in tertiary education, number of aviation colleges and universities in the
region, quality of current programs, aviation safety implementation effectiveness, aviation jobs
supply trend, and air transportation service trend.
The study summarized the external and internal environment scanning in a Threat Opportunity,
Weakness and Strength (TOWS) Matrix that led to an understanding of the regional and global
need in the training qualified aviation professionals. The TOWS matrix will highlight
recommended strategy for implementing AHE, and the author chose a generic program or
curriculum corresponding to the AABI accreditation standards. The study laid out a budget
outline appropriate to the implementation of a collegiate aviation education without a price tag
for each budget line.

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The author collected data from randomly selected countries in Europe, Asia, North and South
America and the Sub-Saharan African countries. Collected data were compiled into a
spreadsheet for further analysis. Table 1 summarized the collected data and their sources.
Table 1
Data Source
Collected Data Source
Aviation Safety Implementation Effectiveness ICAO (“Safety Audit Information”, 2016)
SSA 2014 population World Bank(“Sub-Saharan Africa”, 2016)
Air traffic trend IATA
Country Area CIA (“World Factbook”, 2016)
Youth Ages10-24 % of Population Population Reference Bureau (PRB, 2013)
Youth Enrollment in Tertiary Education Population Reference Bureau
Youth Ages10-24 (Millions) Population Reference Bureau
Total Number of University International Association of Universities
World High Education Database (WHED)
The average percentage of Aviation safety implementation effectiveness in percentage was
calculated by adding ICAO’s safety variables measuring aviation safety standard. The ICAO
safety implementation effectiveness depends on the following independent variables:
Legislation, organization, licensing, operations, Airworthiness, Accidents Investigation, Air
navigation service, and aerodromes. A school is only active when quality and high performance
are its core values and delivery, and quality depends on factors, such as appropriates facilities,
learning materials, qualified and competent faculty and staff. The study assumed these quality
variables were available in other continents while most SSA countries are still challenged to
improve the quality of the education system. International and regional accreditation could be the

AFRICA 6
mean to measure one’s country school quality although such requirement is not mandatory. The
study extracted the data from the SSA population counting 51 counties, and sample data from
North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Each sample had 11 randomly-selected countries.
The author used z-test to calculate the p-value of the SSA because the descriptive statistics of the
population (all SSA countries) provided a standard deviation. Since the randomly selected
European, North and South American, Asian countries’ population standard deviation were
unknown and the number of participants in the survey was less than 30, the author calculated the
p-value using t-test. The number of existing aviation program was the independent variable, and
the aviation safety implementation effectiveness was the dependent variable, and all other
variables that contribute to the effectiveness of aviation safety were held constant. The number
"0" was recorded for countries that did not have an available quality aviation tertiary education,
and those with quality aviation education has a number greater than 1. The p-value of each
region determined the strength of the evidence against the null hypothesis. The p-value is the
probability of getting the observed value of test statistics, or value with even greater evidence
against the null hypothesis if the null value is true. The smaller the p-value, the greater the
evidence against the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis stated “there is no statistical difference
in aviation safety implementation performance between countries that possess a quality tertiary
aviation education and the countries that lack quality aviation tertiary education system.” The
alternative hypothesis stated “there is a statistical difference in aviation safety implementation
performance between countries that possess quality aviation tertiary education and those that
lack a quality tertiary aviation education system.” Statcrunch online statistics software provided
some descriptive and inferential analysis results for the SSA population and the sample from of
other continents. A study of AABI curriculum standards modeled a proposed generic curriculum

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for the new school. The study examined the difference a quality aviation education can make in a
country aviation safety implementation by sampling few cases in Europe, North and South
America, ASIA and SSA. Extensive scholarly literature about the airlines needs assessment, the
air traffic service trend in SSA, and the author’s investigation of one four-year college in the
Democratic Republic of Congo provided qualitative information about the current state of AHE.
Historical background of Civil Aviation in Africa
The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) comprises West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and
Southern Africa region and counts at least 51 countries with a population of 973.4 million and
GDP of $ 1.728 trillion according to the World Bank (2014)report. African countries’ Civil
Aviation Authorities (CAA) play the role of the regulatory agency overseeing the aviation
industry activities under the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Standards and Recommended Practices and national policies. At the regional level, the African
Aviation Civil Aviation Commission (AFCA) was established by ICAO in agreement with the
Article 55 of the convention of Chicago (1944), and became fully operational in 1969, and the
AFCA became a specialized instrument of the Africa Union (AU) in May 1978. The aviation
industry has been one of the most important engines of social and economic development in the
SSA as the continent does not have adequate ground transportation system supporting intra-
Africa connection. The continent has been working on the integration and liberalization of air
transportation policy to improve its economy and aviation safety that are still trailing the rest of
the world. Such effort of pursuing the liberalization of aviation service is revealed in the spirit of
the Yamoussoukro Declaration (YD) on October 17, 1998, in Cote d’Ivoire. According to
Vandyk(1994):

AFRICA 8
The Yamoussoukro Declaration was issued by a meeting of ministers in that Cote d'Ivoire
city in Oct., 1988. It called for an 8-year program with the principal objectives of
increased cooperation between and integration of African airlines; flexibility in granting
traffic rights, particularly Fifth-Freedom rights; reduction of operating costs;
improvement of airline management; greater use of available technical and training
facilities, and an establishment of an aircraft leasing/financing company.
The YD mirrors the application of ICAO Five Freedom of air. However, its implementation has
been slow and ineffective as Victoria Moores (2015) notes:
The delays in liberalizing African skies have been at Africa's peril, with the loss of
African airline market share from 60% in the early 1990s to just under 20% at present,
African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Elijah Chingosho said at the
organization's AGM in Algiers in November. In 1988, a group of African states agreed
that freeing up the intra-African skies would be a good thing. This became known as the
Yamoussoukro Declaration. In 1999, African civil aviation ministers went a step further
and adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD). The problem is, the African internal air
transport market remains heavily restricted.
Most SSA education system has followed the precolonial model, and most institutions of higher
learning are government-controlled. Saints Williams (2009) states:
The history of African higher education has been characterized by strong government
controls on institutions of higher learning. A decade ago, a survey of university leaders
from Commonwealth countries in Africa indicated that state constraints on institutional
autonomy were rather high, although not as high as in Asia. Notably, where multiparty

AFRICA 9
democratic political systems had been introduced, university leaders reported less
government interference than in one-party states (Richardson and Fielden, 1997, 33, 48).
Still, an overview of trends in African higher education produced in 2003 concluded,
'Government involvement in university affairs is the norm' (Teferra and Altbach, 2003,
6). As population increases, recent trend shows the rise of private institutions responding
to the demand for education, and most of the time these institutions do not have the
needed resources to provide quality education.
The African Union adopted in 2011 the African Civil Aviation Policy (ACAP) that recognizes
the necessity of having more well-educated and trained aviation professionals. The African
Airlines Association (AFRAA) publication of ACAP declares in chapter two:
The human resource is the greatest asset for any nation, sector or enterprise. In aviation,
the human resource is particularly critical to the achievement of efficiency, safety,
security, and regularity, and therefore shall receive due attention. Training and retraining
of professionals in quality and quantity in order to address various challenges of the
aviation industry shall be permanently pursued and their retention in the African aviation
shall be guaranteed.(“African Aviation Policy”, 2011).

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Findings and Data Analysis of Aviation High Education
Table 2.1
Sample of North and South America
Country
Area in
Millions of
sq. km
Youth
Ages10-
24
(Millions)
Age10-24
in Percent
of Total
Population
%
Enrolled
in
Tertiary
Education
2005/2011
TotalNum
Universities
Aviation-
Aerospace
Program
AvSafety
Implementation
United
States of
America 9.833 63.8 20 95 2105 145 91.25
Canada 9.984 6.4 18 60 142 15 94.33
Mexico 1.964 32.0 27 28 1390 10 85.47
Brazil 8.515 50.7 25 25.5 1067 9 86.91
Chile 0.756 4.2 24 59.5 64 2 88.48
Colombia 1.138 13.0 27 39 247 6 79.04
Ecuador 0.283 4.2 28 40 65 1 91.17
Perou 1.285 8.5 28 43 140 4 69.59
Costa Rica 0.051 1.3 26 26 58 0 80.17
Honduras 0.112 2.6 32 19 18 0 66.47
Argentina 2.78 10.1 24 71.5 117 4 88.06
Note. Youth Age10-24 data was extracted from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB, 2013);
TotalNum Universities is the total number of government accredited-universities and colleges
extracted from World High Education Database (WHED);Aviation-Aerospace Program is the
number of school providing aviation and/or aerospace program was extracted from (WHED);
AvSafety Implementation is the country overall safety implementation effectiveness in
percentage as rated by ICAO, and data was extracted from ICAO 2014 report. AvSafety is the
average of the total grade of the effectiveness in Legislation, organization, licensing, operations,
Airworthiness, Accidents investigation, Air navigation service, and aerodromes.

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Table 2.2
North and South America Summary
statistics:
Column n Mean Variance Std. dev. Std. err. Median
Youth Ages10-24 (Millions) 11 17.890909 457.19491 21.382117 6.4469507 8.5
Age10-24 in Percent of Total
Population
11 25.363636 15.054545 3.8800187 1.1698697 26
% Enrolled in Tertiary
Education(2005/2011)
11 46.045455 539.67273 23.230857 7.004367 40
TotalNum Univeristies 11 492.09091 496439.69 704.58476 212.4403 140
Aviation-Aerospace Program 11 17.818182 1801.1636 42.440118 12.796177 4
AvSafety Implementation 11 83.721818 81.123156 9.0068394 2.7156643 86.91
Hypothesis test results:
μ1 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" = 0
μ2 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" >= 1
μ1 - μ2 : Difference between two means
H0 : μ1 - μ2 = 0
HA : μ1 - μ2 ≠ 0
(with pooled variances)
Difference Sample Diff. Std. Err. DF T-Stat P-value
μ1 - μ2 -12.713333 6.0930177 9 -2.0865414 *0.0666

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Table 3.1
Sample of Europe
Country
Area in
Millions of
sq. km
Youth
Ages10-24
(Millions)
Age10-24
in Percent
of Total
Population
%
Enrolled
in
Tertiary
Education
2005/2011
TotalNum
Univeristies
Aviation-
Aerospace
Program
AvSafety
Implementation
Belgium 0.03 1.8 17 67.5 64 4 85.73
Denmark 0.043 1.1 19 74.5 18 1 84
France 0.643 11.5 18 54.5 371 19 96.42
Georgia 0.0697 n/a n/a
n/a
44 0 47
Germany 0.357 12.4 15 n/a 353 15 87.21
Greece 0.131 1.7 15 89.5 36 2 66
Italy 0.301 8.8 14 66 98 11 88.76
Portugal 0.092 1.7 16 62.5 115 4 76.24
Russia 17.098 23.5 16 76 837 27 79.75
Spain 0.505 6.8 14 73.5 109 11 82.87
Sweden 0.45 1.7 18 74 39 3 81.46
Switzerland 0.041 1.3 17 55 34 0 92.59
Table 3.2
Europe Summary statistics:
Column Mean Variance Std. dev. Std. err. Median
Youth Ages10-24
(Millions)
6.57273 50.15418 7.0819617 2.1352918 1.8
Age10-24 in Percent of
Total Population
16.2727 2.818182 1.6787441 0.5061604 16
Education(2005-2011)
69.3 111.5111 10.559882 3.3393279 70.5

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Tetanus Universities 176.5 57639.18 240.08161 69.305592 81
Aviation-Aerospace
Program
8.08333 74.44697 8.6282657 2.4907658 4
AvSafety Implementation 80.6692 173.6249 13.176682 3.8037803 83.435
μ2 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" >=1
H0 : μ1 - μ2 = 0
HA : μ1 - μ2 ≠ 0
Difference Sample Diff. Std. Err. DF T-Stat P-value
μ1 - μ2 -13.049 9.8774904 10 -1.3210845 **0.2159
Table 4.1
Sample of Asia
Country
Area in
Millions of
sq. km
Youth
Ages10-24
(Millions)
Age10-24
in Percent
of Total
Population
% Enrolled
in Tertiary
Education
2005/2011
Tetanus
Universities
Aviation-
Aerospace
Program
Safety
Implementation
China 9.596 299 22 26 911 24 75.69
India 3.287 362 28 18 626 36 64.78
Israel 0.02 1.8 23 63 41 1 89.63
Japan 0.377 17.9 14 60 774 25 89.11
Korea
Republic of 0.099 9.3 19 93 192 19 98.77
Malaysia 0.329 8.2 28 40 51 8 76.79

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Philippines 0.3 30.4 31 29 1346 17 67.82
Australia 7.741 4.6 20 80 91 6 84.7
Saudi
Arabia 2.149 7.6 26 37 49 3 89.46
Iran 1.648 19.2 25 43 146 8 88.6
Pakistan 0.796 58.5 32 5.5 125 7 83.85
Table 4.2
Asia Summary Statistics
Column n Mean Variance Std. dev. Std. err. Median
Youth Ages10-24
(Millions) 11 74.40909 16481.251 128.37932 38.707823 17.9
Age10-24 in Percent of
Total Population 11 24.36364 29.454545 5.4272042 1.6363636 25
Education(2005-2011) 11 44.95455 707.72273 26.603059 8.021124 40
Tetanus Universities 11 395.6364 199954.85 447.16312 134.82475 146
Aviation-Aerospace
Program 11 14 121.4 11.018167 3.3221023 8
μ2 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" >1
H0 : μ1 - μ2 = 0
HA : μ1 - μ2 ≠ 0

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DifferenceSample Diff.Std. Err. DFT-Stat P-value
μ1 - μ2 7.673 11.0899199 0.69188962***0.5065
Table 5.1
Sub-Saharan Countries
Country
Area in
Millions of
sq. km
Youth
Ages10-24
(Millions)
Age10-24
in Percent
of Total
Population
% Enrolled
in Tertiary
Education
2005/2011
Aviation-
Aerospace
Program
AvSafety
Implementation
Angola 1.246 7.0 34 3.5 0 45.03
Benin 0.112 3.1 32 11 0 59.26
Botswana 0.581 0.7 31 7.5 0 55.8
Burkina
Faso
0.274 5.9 32 4 0 63.09
Burundi 0.0278 2.9 32 3 0 n/a
Cameroon 0.475 6.7 32 2.5 0 61.11
Cape Verde 0.004 0.2 32 18 0 73.47
Central
Africa
Republic 0.622 1.5 33 2.5 0 10.89
Chad 1.284 3.9 33 2.5 0 43.09
Congo-
Brazzaville
0.342 1.3 31 6.5 0 55.15
Comoros 0.002 0.2 30 8 n/a 29.4
Congo
Democratic
Republic of 2.344 23.9 33 6 1 31.32
Cote d'
Ivories 0.322 6.8 33 9 0 71.87

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Djibouti 0.023 0.2 32 5 0 6.89
Equatorial
Guinea
0.028 0.2 30 3.5 0 53.78
Eritrea 0.117 1.8 31 2 0 20.91
Ethiopia 1.104 30.5 35 5.5 0 69.41
Gabon 0.267 0.5 32 n/a 0 26.73
Gambia 0.011 0.6 33 2 0 82.26
Ghana 0.238 8.0 31 12 1 68.43
Guinea 0.245 3.4 32 9.5 0 20.84
Guinea-
Bissau
0.036 0.5 32 1 0 21.85
Kenya 0.58 14 32 4 1 76.58
Lesotho 0.03 0.8 35 3.5 0 21.17
Liberia 0.111 1.4 31 19.5 0 21.16
Madagascar 0.587 7.4 33 4 0 55.58
Malawi 0.118 5.4 33 1 0 36.27
Mali 1.24 5.5 33 6 0 78.59
Mauritania 1.03 1.2 32 4.5 0 85.71
Mauritius 0.002 0.3 24 25 0 71.89
Mozambique 0.799 8.2 33 1.5 0 50.57
Namibia 0.824 0.8 33 9 0 59.33
Niger 1.267 5.5 32 1.5 0 69.52
Nigeria 0.923 53.5 31 10.5 1 75.22
Reunion n/a 0.2 24 n/a 0 n/a
Rwanda 0.026 3.6 31 5.5 0 59.47
Sao Tome 0.0009 0.1 33 4.5 n/a 23
Senegal 0.196 4.4 33 8 0 63.14
Seychelles 0.0004 n/a n/a n/a n/a 25

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Sierra Leone 0.071 2.0 32 2 0 18.13
Somalia 0.637 3.1 31 n/a 0 n/a
South Africa 1.219 14.9 29 n/a 1 80.24
South Sudan 0.644 n/a n/a n/a 0 N/A
Sudan 1.861 14.8 32 6 2 78.8
Swaziland 0.017 0.4 36 4.5 0 40.52
Tanzania 0.947 15.5 32 2 0 38.37
Togo 0.056 2.1 33 n/a 0 66.3
Uganda 0.241 12.3 33 4.5 0 64.67
Zambia 0.752 4.7 32 2.5 0 53.52
Zimbabwe 0.39 4.8 36 6.5 0 64.6
Table 5.2
Sub-Saharan Statistics Summary
Column N Mean Variance Std. dev. Std. err. Median
Youth Ages10-24 (Millions) 48 6.185417 88.554889 9.4103607 1.3582686 3.25
Age10-24 in Percent of Total Population 48 32.02083 4.616578 2.1486224 0.31012692 32
Education(2005/2011) 43 7.372093 83.715393 9.1496116 1.3953027 4.5
Tetanus Universities 48 20.3125 746.98537 27.331033 3.9448948 9.5
Aviation-Aerospace Program 48 0.145833 0.1697695 0.412031 0.059471545 0
μ1 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" = 0 (Std. dev. =
21.89)
μ2 : Mean of AvSafety Implementation where "Aviation-Aerospace Program" >= 1 (Std. dev. =

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21.89)
H0 : μ1 - μ2 = 0
HA : μ1 - μ2 ≠ 0
Difference n1 n2 Sample mean Std. err. Z-stat P-value
μ1 - μ2 38 9 -3.8240058 8.1148713 -0.47123432 ****0.6375
Discussions
According to Pereira and Leslie:
The decision for rejecting the null hypothesis is based on the following rule: If the
computed value (from the sample data) is smaller than α (significance level), then the rule
is to reject H0. Otherwise, if the computed value is greater than or equal to α then the rule
is to not reject the null hypothesis. This is expressed using the term of p-value or
computed value. For instance, with α set at 0.05, if the p-value = 0.04 then we would
reject H0. On the other hand, if the p-value = 0.7 then we would not reject H0. At times
this is referred to being a “statistically significant difference” when we reject the H0 or
“not statistically significant” when we do not reject H0 (Pereira & Leslie, 2009).
The results are as follow: Having set the significance level at 0.05 (α = 0.05),
t-test ( n<30)
North and South America: p-value = 0.06 (*) > 0.05
Europe: p-value = 0.21 (**) > 0.05

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Asia: p-value = 0.506 (***) >0.05
z-test (n>30)
Sub-Saharan Africa: p-value = 0.63 (****) >0.05
A p-value is a probability that the observed value occurred by chance, and a p-value of less than
0.05 means there is no statistically significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis.
Consequently, there is no statistically difference in aviation safety implementation between
countries with quality aviation education and the countries lacking quality aviation tertiary
education system. The fact some countries do not have a tertiary aviation school does not
automatically translate to a poor aviation safety implementation. The factors, such as a state
performance in legislation, organization, licensing, operations, airworthiness, accidents
investigation, air navigation service, and aerodromes also play an important role in the overall
safety implementation effectiveness. However, there is a positive relation between quality high
education availability and a country economic development as Fonken and Ntembe note:
Higher education is an important form of human capital investment. It has the potential of
being the driving force of economic development in Africa. In fact, Castells (1994),
describes it as the “engine of development in the new world economy”. Higher education
does not only enable those with such capital to earn higher, it also contributes to
economic growth. Higher education affects the participation of individuals in economic
activities and the overall economic development; it contributes to the development of
human capital by expanding the size and skills of the work force (Fonken & Ntembe,
2009).

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The author argues a quality aviation tertiary education as well contributes to the safety and the
economy of the aviation industry. The International Civil Aviation Organization has recogonized
the importance aviation high education in aviation safety the organization has implemented a
directory of aviation tertiary education (ATED). ICAO has made the following statement:
Maintaining a safe and functional international air transport system largely depends upon
educating the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP). The Organization is working
closely with universities across the world to ensure that aviation-related education is offered to
students. To this end, and under the umbrella of the NGAP Initiative, ICAO has created the
ICAO Aviation Tertiary Education Directory (ATED): a database featuring tertiary educational
institutions that offer aviation-related degrees and courses around the world.( “ICAO Aviation
Tertiary Institutions”, 2016).
A simple linear regression analysis labelling “Aviation-Aerospace program” as an independent
variable and the “Aviation Safety Implementation effectiveness” as a dependent variable
demonstrated a positive relation between these two variables, and the linear equation line is
shown on Fig.1.
Simple linear regression results:
Dependent Variable: AvSafety Implementation
Independent Variable: Aviation-Aerospace Program
AvSafety Implementation = 63.502931 + 0.37172412 Aviation-Aerospace Program
Sample size: 78
R (correlation coefficient) = 0.28525244

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R-sq. = 0.081368953
Estimate of error standard deviation: 22.106309
Fig. 1
Simple linear regression line of Aviation Safety Implementation effectiveness as function of
Aviation-Aerospace Program
Unfortunately, the reading of the descriptive statistics of Aviation-Aerospace Program in SSA
(Table 5.2) shows M = 0.14 Aviation-Aerospace Program per country while M = 17.8 for North
and South America, M = 8 for Europe, and M = 14 for Asia. The SSA has the lowest number of
Aviation-Aerospace Program the author infered the absence of AHE in SSA negatively impact
the aviation safety implantation performance and the economy. The new aviation tertiary
education in SSA should address the scaricity and the quality of AHE, and should contribute to
an improved aviation safety implementation performance that has made the region lagging the
rest of the world.

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Availability, Quality and Aviation Safety
The average “Age10-24 in Percent of Total Population” of the population “Sub-Saharan
Africa”(Table 5.2) is equal to 32 percent and corresponds to the Population Reference Bureau
(PRB) calculation. The mean “% Enrolled in Tertiary Education (2005-2011)”of the population
“Sub-Saharan Africa”(Table 5.2) is equal to 7.37 percent and is statistically close to the PRB’s
calculation of 6.5 percent. In contrast with the North and South America, the mean “Age10-24 in
Percent of Total Population” of the sample “North and South America”(Table 2.2) is equal to
25.36 percent and is very close to the population mean of “North and South America” of 24
percent calculated by the Population Reference Bureau. The mean “% Enrolled in Tertiary
Education (2005-2011)” of the sample “North and South America”(Table 2.2) is equal to 46 %
and is different from the population mean of “North and South America” of 64.5 % computed by
the Population Reference Bureau. The study performed a t-test to check if the percentage of
student enrolled could be less than 64.5 percent.
μ : Mean of variable
H0 : μ = 64.5
HA : μ < 64.5
Variable Sample Mean Std. Err. DF T-Stat P-value
% Enrolled in Tertiary Education(2005/2011) 46.045455 7.004367 10 -2.6347199 0.0125

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Because the p-value of 0.012 is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected, and the study states
there is statistically significant evidence the percentage of student enrolled in tertiary education
in North and South America be less than 64.5 percent.
Assuming that an average of 46 percent of student ages 10-24 enrolls in tertiary education in
North and South America, the SSA number is very small because only 6.5 percent has access to
tertiary education although the SSA has 31 percent of youth Ages10-24, North and South
Amercica has 25 percent, Europe has 16 percent and Asias has 24 percent.The SSA experiences
an enrollment rate that is small and has a slow growth compared to other continents. The United
States alone possess at least 145 aviation-aerospace tertiary education available for 63.8 millions
of youth Ages 10-24 (Table 2.1) while the Sub-Saharan Africa holds only 4 aviation-aerospace
high educations against a youth population (Ages10-24) of 296.3 million. Some studies have
attributed the low enrollment rate the prevalence of many low income and poor people; while
that is also true, the author believes the more people attend an high education programs, the more
to more they are likely to increase their income and mitigate the poverty.
SSA high education faces challenges of quality as other developing countries do. Hosni
(2004) notes:
The developing countries face many obstacles including poor faculty quality, outmoded
teaching methods, unmotivated students, overcrowded classrooms, weak infrastructure,
and widespread geographic, income, gender, and ethnic
imbalances.(Hosni, 2004).
The 2007 World Bank Working Paper report on higher education quality assurance in SSA
states:

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Several factors contributed to the decline in quality of higher education in Africa. These
include a decline in per unit costs (from US$6,800 in 1980 to US$1,200 in 2002) amid
rapidly rising enrollments; insufficient numbers of qualified academic staff in higher
education institutions as the result of brain drain, retirements and HIV/AIDS; low internal
and external efficiency; and poor governance. These factors, along with the rapid
emergence of private providers in response to the increasing social demand for higher
education, have prompted institutions and governments to put in place various forms of
quality assurance mechanisms in an attempt to reverse the decline in quality and to
regulate the new providers. (World Bank, 2007).
In November 2015, the author visited the only aviation tertiary education in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and discovered the withering and obsolete state of the aviation laboratory
where the wind tunnel serving to perform aerodynamic studies such as the NACA airfoil
characteristics is broken and has become inoperational for more than 10 years. Fig. 2 shows the
Dean of the department of aviation explaining to the author the challenges they face in
simulating aerodynamic characteristic that studies the laminar flow and turbulent flow around the
airfoil as well as the static and dynamic pressure calculation for low camber, deeper camber or
symmetrical camber airfoil. The ATC lab uses some aircraft toys to simulate air traffic control
procedures, with one student holding the airplane and simulating all movements, from taxi to
runway take-off or landing. The author was simulating a standard departure procedure on Fig 4.
Added to the poor aviation education, the lack of documentation was another challenges the
Deam reavealed the school experiences, and that makes their teaching assignments very difficult.

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Fig.2
Wind Tunnel in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fig. 3
Lab for ATC practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Fig 4
ATC Lab in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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The lack of academic resources can only lead to poor education quality and low-skilled aviation
professionals, and undoubtedly the aviation safety performance could also be endangered if these
aviation entry level candidates join the workforce. The SSA (44%) aviation safety
implementation lags the rest of the word as shown in Fig. 1, and the descriptive statistical
analysis produced a mean Aviation Safety Implementation of 51,12 percent while the world
average is at 61 percent. The Democratic Republic of Congo Aviation Safety Implementation
effectiveness is at 31.32 percent that the country figures on the list of those whose airplanes
cannot fly over Europe or the United States of America. The FAA uses the International Aviation
Safety Assessment (IASA)Program to determine “whether another country’s oversight of its air
carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the U.S., or codeshare with a U.S. air carrier,
complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO)”( :International Aviation Safety Assessment”, 2016).
From 2006 to 20013, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been rated Category II in FAA
IASA program because the country has not met ICAO level of aviation safety compliance as
reported by the Aviation-Safety Network database:
22-MAR-2006: All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for
regulatory oversight of Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), with the exception of
Hewa Bora Airways, are subject to a ban within the European Community. Hewa Bora
Airways is subject to an operational restriction and is only allowed to a specific aircraft.
» 11-APR-2008: All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for
regulatory oversight of Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), are subject to a ban within
the European Community.

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» 08-MAR-2013: As of March 8, 2013, countries are removed from the list after four
years if they do not provide air transport service to the U.S., have no code-share
arrangements with U.S. air carriers, and have no significant interaction with the
FAA(Aviation-SafetyNetwork, 2014).
Fig. 5
ICAO 2013 Aviation Safety Implementation Effectiveness per Region
Fig. 5 Source:ICAO 2013 Aviation Safety
http://www.icao.int/safety/state of global aviation
safety/icao_sgas_book_en_sept2013_final_web.pdf

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The U.S Trade and Development Agency Direct, Zak Leocadia stated during a U.S- Sub-Saharan
Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation forum:
According to World Bank data, Africa's aviation accident rates are more than twice those
in the Middle East and Latin America, and nearly 10 times higher than the rates in the
United States. As economic growth rates continue to rise across Africa, more and more
people will be taking to the skies.(USTDA, 2010)
Among the factors that should contribute to imporving the aviation safety implementation, the
Government Accounatbility Office recognizes the need to train qualified-aviation professionals:
Improving aviation safety in Africa is an important goal for the United States and the
international aviation community. However, achieving that goal presents several challenges. The
major challenge is the relatively low priority that political leaders in many African countries
have accorded aviation safety, in part because of more pressing concerns such as widespread
poverty, national health care issues, and a lack of awareness about the potential benefits of an
improved aviation system. This relatively low priority placed on improving safety is reflected in
the other challenges that were frequently identified in the literature GAO reviewed and by the
officials GAO interviewed. These challenges include weak regulatory systems, inadequate
infrastructure, and a lack of technical expertise and training capacity.(GAO, 2009)
Not only the new aviation school could contribute in improving the aviation safety
implementation performance through the effectivity of well-educated and trained-aviation
professionals, but also could respond the local and global need of the aviation industry.

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Aviation Industry Needs Assessment
Airlines, Airports operators and Civil Aviation Authorities have expressed the need for
aviation high education to respond to the shortage of qualified-professional in the industry. The
South African Civil Aviation Authorities, the South Africa Airlines and Airport operators
expressed the need for entry level aviation professional coming from an aviation tertiary
education during a meeting with a team that came from the University of Florida. Yates Reth ,
Ph.D. from the Jacksonville University stated in 2009:
During the assessment trip to South Africa, the aviation curriculum development leader
met with various individuals representing a vast cross-section of the South African
aviation industry. They included the following: Civil Aviation Authority, Airport
Company of South Africa, South African Airways, International Civil Aviation
Organization, local airport managers, and local and regional government agencies. The
overall contingency among these individuals was that there is a great need for aviation
curriculum in the higher education system of South Africa. Every entity offered advice
and input to the potential new curriculum and expressed immediate support of the new
program. The South African CAA (Nkabiti, 2009) and ACSA (Mokhema, 2009) reported
that both entities are struggling to find relevant personal with appropriate aviation
qualifications to hire for entry level positions. These administrations are spending much
time and money to introduce the basic knowledge of aviation to new hires. They both
agree there is a need for aviation management curriculum in higher education and having
a diploma being offered in aviation would help enrich the quality of future applicants.
(Yates Rhett, 2009).

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The African Civil Aviation Commission(AFCAC) states in Africa Aviation Policy document:
The shortage of skilled personnel in the African aviation industry and African regulatory
bodies had been a cause of serious concern for many years. African civil aviation faced
additional problems due to the migration of aviation experts looking for better
opportunities overseas. This was exacerbated by the high turnover of aviation
professionals in government owned institutions. The training capacity within Africa is
limited. The available training institutions are few and have not always kept pace with the
advancements in civil aviation and training technology (“African Civil Aviation Policy ”,
2011).
Mr. Tony Tyler, the IATA Managing Director, “recognized on September 17th
, 2009 during a
conference on the subject of Safety, infrastructure and capacity building that aviation supports
6.7 million jobs and some 68 billions of US $ of economic activities in Africa” (“Remarks of
Tony Tyler at Aviation Day Africa”, 2013).
Mr. Tony Tyler added:
Seven of the ten fastest-growing markets in percentage terms will be in Africa.
The top ten will be Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic,
Serbia, Tanzania, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Each of
these markets is expected to grow by 7-8% each year on average
over the next 20 years, doubling in size each decade. In terms of routes, Asian,
South American and African destinations will see the fastest growth, reflecting
economic and demographic growth in those markets. Indonesia-East Timor will

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be the fastest growing route, at 13.9%, followed by India-Hong Kong (10.4%),
Within Honduras (10.3%), Within Pakistan (9.9%) and UAE-Ethiopia (9.5%)
(“Air Passenger Forecast Shows Dip in Long-Term Demand”, 2016).
On the global level, the ICAO has expressed the need to increase the training of next generation
aviation professional as the world continues to experience an increase in air transportation
service and a shortage of labor supply because of the increasing trend of aviation professionals
that are leaving the workforce due to retirement age. Because half of the African population is
under 25 years old, the SSA region offers the opportunity to train the new generation who could
not only supply the regional workforce, but also the global community.ICAO’s study projected
the following statistics and solution:
In the next 20 years, airlines will have to add 25,000 new aircraft to the current
17,000-strong commercial fleet.By 2026, we will need 480,000 new technicians
to maintain these aircraft and over 350,000 pilots to fly them. Between 2005 and
2015, 73% of the American air traffic controller population is eligible for
retirement. Solutions must be globally-harmonized in nature and include human
resource planning tools, accredited training and educational programs adapted to
the next generation, and wide-ranging cooperation among concerned stakeholders
(ICAO, 2016).
The study summarized the strategic audit of the implementation of an aviation school in a Threat,
Opportunities, Weakness and Strength (TOWS) matrix.

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Table 6
Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy-TOWS Matrix
SSA AVIATION HIGH EDUCATION TOWS ANALYSIS
Internal Factors
External Factors Strengths (S)
S1: Online presence and E-commerce/Integrated retail strategy
S3: One of the largest networked-retailers offering a diversity of brand products and
Weaknesses (W)
W1: Information technology integration
W2: Declining Operational performance
Opportunities (O)
Internal Factors
External Factors
Strengths (S)
S1: Few universities provide aviation
programs
S2: One of the largest region offering a high
percentage of youth Ages 10-24
S3:Google fiber optics Network ongoing
project
Weaknesses (W)
W1: Scarcity of resources
W2: Declining quality of high education
W3:Low enrollment coupled with low interest
of student in Aviation program, and
affordability challenges
Opportunities (O)
O1: Build a regional
aviation tertiary
education system
responding to local,
regional and global
needs
O2: E-learning
O3:Networking and
partnership with
world Universities for
research
SO Strategies
S2/O1 By building a regional high
education school, many youth Ages 10-24
could be attracted to aviation programs
S1/O3 The few aviation colleges could
improve the quality of education by
networking and partnering with world
renowned universities like Embry Riddle
Aeronautical University in joint-venture
business strategy
S3/O2 As many SSA countries are
implementing the High speed internet
connection, the E-learning will facilitate
distance teaching and distance learning
WO Strategies
W1/O1- The new college will alleviate the
resources limitation in faculty, staff,
equipment and documentation
W2/O3 The partnership with world’s
accredited-colleges and universities will
implement a quality assurance plan, and
curriculum development in SSA
W3/O3 The E-learning will provide the
opportunities of enrolling more students that a
single class could contain
Threats (T)
T1:SSA governments
poor policies,
economy and low
investment in high
education
T3: Intra-Africa and
International
competitions
ST Strategies
S3/T2 The High-Speed Internet connection
could allow African intellectuals who have
left the continent to accept online teaching
if they do not want to relocate back in
Africa
WT Strategies
W3/T1 SSA government policies should be
reviewed to encourage enrollment by
providing scholarship to low income and poor
students
W1/T1 Public-private investment should
increase the resources availability.

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Mission, Vision and Objectives
The mission of the aviation tertiary education should be summarized in one simple statement:
“We make available to our community a quality aviation tertiary education that trains qualified-
aviation professionals to improve the SSA aviation safety and economy.” The vision should be
becoming the greatest accredited high education aviation school in the SSA region. The
objectives of the new school should be:
-To create an aviation higher education college internationally and regionally accredited that
dispenses quality education to future aviation professionals
-To provide a regional school that respond to the regional need of liberalization and integration
of the air transportation industry
-To be the model other schools of aviation should emulate
-To address specific needs and problems of the aviation industry in the SSA
-To promote research, creativity and innovation in SSA aviation industry
-To increase students’ interest and enrollment in aviation through scholarship program
The aviation should implement a curriculum that respond to the need of the aviation industry and
standard of internationally recognized accreditation agencies such as AABI.
Curriculum Development and Accreditation
A survey of three tertiary aviation education school in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya reveal limited aviation programs tailored to the need of the

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respective country as shown in Table 7. Most aviation program focused on aviation
management, maintenance and air traffic control. The study found few cases of higher education
schools that provided flight training. Most fight training programs are being handled by airlines
of private training school. For example, most of the students who graduate at Advanced Applied
Technical Institute pursue their career as Air Traffic Controller, Airplane & Power plant
engineer, Airlines Operations professionals at the entry level. The Advanced Applied Technical
Institute doesn’t provide flight training. The Kenya MOI university trains professional pilots,
Aerospace security and Aerospace logistics professionals.
Table 7
Survey of Aviation-Aerospace Program in four countries

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Note. Date was collected from the World High Education Database
Although becoming a member of AABI is not a mandatory program, the study recommends that
the school participate not only in a local and regional accreditation program but also in an
international accreditation such as AABI to ensure quality assurance implementation in a region
where the education system is different from one country to another. Moreover, French-
speaking countries, as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon,
Central Africa Republic, Gabon, Togo, Ruanda, and Burundi could prefer teaching course in
French. The study emphasized teaching in English as the language is widely used in the aviation
industry, and French could be utilized as a second language. Registering the two-year and four
years’ program at the AABI accreditation program will promote students’ quality and
performance evaluation, program mission and educational goals, students’ learning objectives
and outcomes, curriculum, faculty and staff qualification, selection and retention program,
facility, equipment and library, partnership with the aviation industry and the community, and
aviation safety culture promotion. The study recommended the associate and bachelor degree
program criteria for aviation management, flight education, and aviation maintenance similar to
AABI’s program. The AABI criteria manual states:

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It is the responsibility of the institution seeking accreditation of one or more programs to identify
the specific AABI program (e.g. Aviation Management, Aviation Maintenance, Aviation
Electronics, Aviation Studies, Flight Education, Aviation Safety Science or Air Traffic Control)
that applies to each degree program. The title of each institution’s program MUST be consistent
with the name of the applicable AABI program under which accreditation is being sought and
the program MUST meet the criteria for that AABI program (AABI, 2016).
The study chose the AABI because of its international reputation of “ensuring the quality of the
institution and program, assisting in the improvement of the institution and the program and
maintaining relevance of education with the industry it serves, AABI (AABI, 2016). Students
wishing to attend the school should be required pass the secondary level of Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics and English pre-college test.The basic curriculum will comprise
Aviation Management, Flight Program and Aviation Maintenance, and the core curriculum for
Aviation Management and Flight Program will be similar to the North Texas Aviation Education
Initiative reflected on the following list (North Texas Aviation Education Initiative, 2009):
Aviation Management
Lower Division Upper Division
Introduction to Aviation Aviation Law and Ethics
Aviation History Aviation Safety (Safety Management Systems)
Private Pilot Ground School Airport Planning and Development
National Airspace System Airport and Airline Operations

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Intermodal Transportation and Logistics
Aviation Security
International Aviation
Air Transport Labor Management
Aviation Capstone Course
Source: North Texas Aviation Education Initiative
Aviation Maintenance/Technology Management
Management Advanced Technical
Lower Division Lower Division
Accounting
As set forth in university’s general education
requirements
Computer Systems/Management Information
Systems
Business Law Upper Division
Marketing Advanced Courses in:
Upper Division Aircraft Electronics
Aviation Labor Relations Electronic Control Systems
Aviation Maintenance Management Flight Management Systems

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Production/Operations Management Advanced Materials/Composites
Project Management in Aviation Operations Advanced Propulsion Systems
Life Cycle Analysis of Aviation/Aerospace
Systems
Advanced Communications Systems
Quality Control Systems Management (ISO
9000)
Advanced Navigation Systems
Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle Systems
Aviation Maintenance ManagementMaintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) Program
Management
Aviation/Flight Professional Pilot
Lower Division Upper Division
Introduction to Aviation Aviation Law and Ethics
Aviation History Aviation Safety (Safety Management Systems)
National Airspace System Airport and Airline Operations
Intermodal Transportation and Logistics
Aviation Security
International Aviation

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Air Transport Labor Management
Multi-Engine Ground/Flight
Flight Instructor Ground/Flight
Instrument Flight Instructor Ground/Flight
Aviation Capstone Course
The Aviation Management, Aviation Maintenance, and Flight education represents a generic
program that could be updated based upon local and regional specific needs, and the programs
will train the next aviation professionals who could choose to be Air Traffic Controller ready to
to pass the FAA certification, Avionics Engineer, A&P, AMT, Airline Operation manager or
Civil Aviation Authority staff, Pilot. The study limited itself in presenting a budget outline of the
project implementation.
Budget Outlines Template
The study outlined a budget planning framework not in term of dollars because of some
limitation of collecting the real cost of capital expenditure related to this project. However, a
comprehensive budgeting will summarize the main items that should be include in the budget
related to the implementation of the aviation tertiary education in SSA. Most equipment and
items for the building will be imported that estimating the real cost should consider many factors,
such as the shipping cost, the custom expenditure and others cost related to the building of the
facility. The study did not also attempt to highlight the return on investment that the SSA
aviation school could generate, and the author considered such assignment as being beyond the

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scope of this study. However, curving the low-income and poverty factors that characterizes
most African region could be mitigated by the concept of regional integration and contribution,
and public-private partnership or join-venture. African governments will have to bear the
responsibility of investing in this project through scholarship and other allowances that could
decrease the school operating costs and increase its revenues. The study suggested that African
government subscribing to the implementation of regional SSA aviation should make the school
a non-profit that could be able to receive grants and donations from stakeholders in the aviation
industry. Because the startup cost of implementation of an aviation school can be very high, the
regional approach concept, the partnership with ICAO training centers, the partnership with
airline companies that have flight simulators and with general aviation airports could lead to a
cost-saving. The e-learning and e-teaching will also make the program cost-effective as the
school could hire some teachers who will not have to travel or to live in Africa. The most
expensive program will be the flight education program since it will involve flight operation cost
such fuel, take-off and landing fees, airplane maintenance, flight instructors cost etc.…
The Startup budget lines should include:
Line Items: Amount: Funding Source:
Facility/Classroom/Office/Students’ rooms TBD TBD
Lab/Simulator TBD TBD
Library/Office supply/Course Materials TBD TBD
Aircraft(Lease-Purchase) TBD TBD

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Ground Equipment TBD TBD
Fuel Supply TBD TBD
Flight Instructors TBD TBD
Faculty/Staff Salaries TBD TBD
Maintenance and insurance TBD TBD
Total TBD TBD
Note: TBD stands for to be determined based upon SSA specific conditions
The AHE will certainly not eliminated all the problems the SSA experiences in term of
quality, safety and economy, but the implementation will serve as a standard bearer allowing
other institutions to emulate its quality assurance implementation program. SSA governments
should implement policies that encourage private investment and avoid over-controlling the new
aviation tertiary education school.

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Appendix
By
Yabi M. Kidibu
A Research Project Proposal
Submitted to the Worldwide Campus
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
of Course ASCI 490, The Aeronautical Science Capstone Course,
for the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics Degree
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
June 2016

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Abstract
The author will develop a strategic plan to establish of a post-secondary aviation education
system that will respond to the local and global needs of skilled and competent entry level
professionals in the aviation industry, specifically in the Africa Sub-Saharan region. The new
post-secondary aviation school will solve the scarcity in tertiary education and supply the
aviation industry with entry level professional ready to perform at the same level as their
international counterparts. After a comprehensive study of the availability and quality of existing
education programs, comparing to the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI)
tertiary education standards, the research will highlight the roadmap for implementing an
aviation curriculum. The author will use quantitative and qualitative information from multiple
sources in the aviation industry. Key resources derived from sources such as International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), AABI, local Civil Aviation Authority, and education departments, will be
foundational to substantiate the state of aviation safety in Africa and the need for reformed
aviation tertiary education. The research will suggest a joint-venture public-private partnership as
the best strategic planning alternative, and will present the economic aspect of the project to
draw funding opportunity from regional government institutions, private companies, major
financial institutions, and other aviation industry stakeholders. The author will make a budget
projection estimation inspired by previous successful venture in developed countries.
Statement of the Project

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The author will present this individual project at the end of his undergraduate program to
demonstrate mastery of specific curriculum required to obtain the Bachelor of Science in
Aeronautics degree. This curriculum comprises the demonstration of critical thinking,
quantitative reasoning, information literacy, communication, scientific literacy, cultural literary,
lifelong personal growth, aeronautical science, aviation legislation and law, aviation safety, and
aviation management and operations. The author has seen personally the challenges some
African countries are experiencing in providing quality and continuous tertiary education. The
research proposes to provide a solution in the particular field of collegiate aviation education by
implementing an aviation school that will meet international standards as well as local and
regional demands.
Introduction
The impact of aviation higher education on the economy and safety of aviation remains
very important. The author could easily say as goes the quality of education of a country, as goes
its performances in important areas, such as socio-economics and technology. The general state
of the collegiate education system in Africa Sub-Saharan needs improvement and continues to
impede the development of Africa. The aviation higher education system is not in evidence, and
the situation could get worse in the future if the aviation industry stakeholders do not foresee a
long-term solution. According to Canterucci (2015, p.1):
The development of highly skilled “human capital” (World Bank, 2009, p.
xx) is increasingly considered by researchers, funding agencies, and national
governments as pivotal to economic and social development. As a result, higher
education institutions in both developed and developing countries are becoming

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the keystone to national progress and regional development.
Unfortunately, the Africa Sub-Saharan demonstrates the worst performance and
enrollment in higher education, and most of the country’s aviation safety implementation
effectiveness is below 61 percent of the international average. Most aviation entry level
candidates do not perform at the same level as their international colleagues, although the region
comprises a growing number of youth who could constitute the next generation aviation
professional at the local and global level, should they have an opportunity to access such an
education system. The author will research how the implementation of a regional collegiate
aviation curriculum could improve the availability and the quality of education to meet the entry
level standards requirements of the aviation industry stakeholders. Highly educated and skilled
aviation professional should be able to deliver an aviation safety management improvement. The
author will address the appropriate curriculum that must be implemented to meet the AABI
accreditation standards and ICAO next generation aviation professional performance level. The
author will establish the relevance of the project with regard to the local Civil Aviation
Authorities (CAA), airlines and airports. The subject will focus on the central part of Africa,
largely covered by the Democratic Republic of Congo. To achieve this project, the author will
retrieve qualitative and quantitative data from institution, such as the ICAO, the IATA, the
AABI, the FAA, the Safety Network Foundation, African Civil Aviation Authority records, and
various scholarly articles from diverse sources.
Program Outcomes to be Addressed
Critical Thinking

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“The student will show evidence of knowledge at a synthesis level to define and solve
problems within professional and personal environments” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
By contrasting the profile of African Sub-Saharan aviation schools to those in developing
countries, the author will not only read those quantitative and qualitative data to draw the
conclusion, but will also analyze the root cause of any plausive difference that characterizes such
disparity by studying the cause-effect relation between different variables. Learning how to read
data is one thing, and understanding the relation between variables is another. Once the author
has collected pertinent information and applied the appropriate reasoning process, he will draw
the conclusion that will present the best alternative in solving the problem that faces African
aviation tertiary education. The author will collect information about the current state of aviation
education in term of enrollments, curriculum, faculty development, and graduation in the
existing schools offering aviation programs. Collected information will provide the opportunity
to scan the Africa Sub-Saharan aviation industry environment to determine its strength,
weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT). Such SWOT analysis will help understanding the
problem to be addressed and justify the implementation of a regional collegiate aviation school.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the FAA, the IATA, AABI and local
Civil Aviation Authority and scholarly articles will provide qualitative and quantitative
information.
Quantitative Reasoning
“The student will show evidence of the use of digitally-enabled technology & analysis
techniques to interpret data for the purpose of drawing valid conclusions and solving associated
problems” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).

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Quantitative information will be presented in different formats, such as tables,
histograms, or pie charts. The author will determine the relevance of the collected data and the
relationship between variables by understanding the variable characteristics and the meaning of
the relationship between the variables. The author proposes to project those datum on
productivity software, such as spreadsheet and make some “what-if analysis” or explain the
trend. The project will search for current databases of collegiate aviation schools and training
centers, and will analyze the trend in the enrollments and the graduation per each aviation
program. The research will examine the difference a quality aviation education can make in a
country aviation safety implementation by sampling few cases in Europe, North America and
Africa. The null hypothesis should state there is no statistically difference in aviation safety
implementation between countries with quality aviation education and the countries that
demonstrate poor aviation education system. The alternative hypothesis will prove there is a
statistically difference in aviation safety implementation between countries with quality aviation
education and those who with poor aviation education system. The author will also collect data
and trend in aviation safety implementation effectiveness as audited by the ICAO and reported
by FAA and perform hypothesis testing. The author will project the budget cost of implementing
the school by emulating developed-country’s model and adapting to the local societal
environment.
Informative Literacy
“The student will show evidence of meaningful research, including gathering information
from primary and secondary sources and incorporating and documenting source material in their
writing” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).

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The author will research aviation curriculum model from the international accreditation
agency such as AABI to design a design an aviation curriculum adaptable the African Sub-
Saharan region. The author will also evaluate literature about Africa aviation education from
source such as the ICAO, the IATA, the World Bank, the Safety Foundation Network, the
European Aviation Safety Agency, the University Aviation Association, articles and scholarly
journal from the Hunt Library and books, and the findings will be documented. The existing
country accredited aviation school website will also be used to collect some factual data
supporting the author’s argument.
Communication
“The student will show evidence of communicating concepts in written, digital, and oral
forms to present technical and non-technical information” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
The student will employ the American Psychological Association manual as the standard
for technical and non-technical information used in Microsoft Word for editing and in Microsoft
PowerPoint for presentation. Pictures could be used to reinforce the argument. For example, the
author will show the picture of Air Traffic Control lab of a four-year college accredited by the
government in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The author will also use other office
productivity software, such as Microsoft Outlook to communicate his project. The author may
use the EagleVision communication if direct interaction to respond to specific questions is
needed. The author will also present the role the E-learning or virtual classroom could play in the
Aviation School.
Scientific Literacy

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“The student will show evidence of analyzing scientific evidence as it relates to the physical
world and its interrelationship with human values and interests” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
The author will be aware of the difference in the unit of measurement and apply the
appropriate conversion. Most French speaking countries in the central region of Africa use the
metric system, while the United States uses the English Customary System. The MKS stands for
the use of meter, kilogram and second while the CGS represents centimeter, gram and second.
The author will use the International System of Units that has adopted the meter, kilogram,
second, ampere, and degree Kelvin. The author will show scientific evidence of collegiate
aviation education impact in the aviation professional productivity and how an inadequate or
poor education will impede the safety of aviation. Learning how to fly could be like learning
how to drive a car, but understanding the aerodynamic concept and the mechanics of flight in an
academic environment should increase the pilot’s performance and situational awareness.
Cultural Literacy
“The student will show evidence of the analysis of historic events, cultural artifacts and
philosophical concepts” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
The author will narrate the source of each African country‘s education system as a result
of the colonization, and the project will show the difference in languages used in school. The
author will present the role the English language plays in the Sub-Saharan region as
recommended by the ICAO. The author will examine the general perception of the community
towards aviation education and career, and the project will address the consequence of such

AFRICA 56
attitude as well as the mean to overcome such challenge. The project will also summarize the
history of aviation education in Africa. The author will research the history of collegiate aviation
school in the Sub-Saharan region, and mostly the study will provide information about the
development of the aviation education system until today. The local Civil Aviation Authority and
the Departments of education will be the primary source providing such information.
Lifelong Personal Growth
“The student will show evidence of the skills needed to enrich the quality of life through
activities which enhance and promote lifetime learning” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
The author’s 12-year experience as a flight operation manager, his associate degree in
computer programming, his three-year study of Business Administration at the University of
Phoenix, and his near-future Bachelor Degree in Science of Aeronautics will establish the
foundation of continuous education culture, and such attitude is relevant in implementing the
fourth pillar of Safety Management System that is “The Safety Promotion”. This attitude
increases not only the authors’ aviation professionalism, but also makes him creative and
proactive. The author will look at the project as a building block and not as a final product he
will continue to read experts publications and participate in conferences discussing subjects
related to the improvement of tertiary aviation education in Africa.
Aviation/Aerospace/Aeronautical Science
“The student will show evidence of advanced concepts of aviation, aerospace, and aeronautics
to solve problems commonly found in their respective industries” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
The author will demonstrate knowledge in the selection of curriculum that should be
implemented to meet the international accreditation standards; the program should be adapted to

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the local and global needs of the aviation industry. Such curriculum will comprise courses
covering aviation history, aerodynamic, radio navigation, ICAO communication procedures, air
traffic control, flight training, aircraft design, construction and maintenance. The curriculum will
be tailored to satisfy primarily the regional need of seasoned aviation professionals. The author
will also inventory the need in human capital and technical resources that will provide an
effective and efficient learning environment.
Aviation Legislation and Law
“The student will show evidence of the basic concepts in national and international legislation
and law as they pertain to the aviation, aerospace and aeronautics industries” (ERAU, 2016, pp.
xx).
The author will recall some FAA mandated requirements on the subject matter being
covered in the chosen curriculum. The author will use the appropriate CFR and Part number
related to each course. The project will consult ICAO Standards and Recommended practices
and guidance by recalling appropriate Annexes related to aviation education and training. The
research will highlight the implication and the integration of countries’ aviation legislation as
stipulated by the Civil Aviation Authority agencies.
Aviation Safety
“The student will show evidence of basic concepts in aviation safety as they pertain to the
aviation, aerospace, aeronautics industry” (ERAU, 2016, pp. xx).
Since the Central Africa demonstrates the world’s worst aviation safety record, the author
will recommend the dispensation of Safety Management System as the core lesson to proactively
improve aviation safety implementation by supplying competent and well-educated aviation

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professionals. The course breakdown will refer to ICAO Annex 19 Safety Management System,
ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) and the FAA Part 121 Safety Management System.
The author will also demonstrate how the fourth pillar of SMS, Safety Promotion should be
implemented in school as a proactive method improving aviation safety.
Aviation Management and Operations
“The student will show evidence of sound, ethical management principles within standard
aviation, aerospace, and aeronautics operations” (ERAU, 20xx, pp. xx).
The researcher will present the importance of subjects referring to airline administration
and management, airport management and operations, aviation insurance, aircraft lease, sale, and
marketing, and aviation human resource management as components in effective curriculum
framework of Aviation Management and Operations.
The author will explain how mastering these topics will help student be effective in the local,
regional and global aviation industry labor market.

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References
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. (2016). College of aeronautics:
Undergraduate capstone policy guide. Retrieved from
https://erau.instructure.com/courses/6179/pages/coa-undergraduatecapstone-policy-
guide?module_item_id=17735
Canterucci, G. M. (2015). Higher education and supranational agreements: The case of
south africa (Order No. 3705221). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global. (1688757964). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1688757964?accou
ntid=27203

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The_ImplementationOfAviationHighEducation_In_Africa

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