Fake pilot scam prompts regulator to do away with paper-pencil test and update syllabus
The fake pilot scam, where fourteen persons were arrested, including six pilots and three Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officers, has prompted the aviation regulator to consider a change in the format of the commercial pilots licence (CPL) examination.
Come July, the civil aviation regulator will do away with the paper-pencil test and make way for a computer-based commercial pilots licence examination. DGCA, as part of the exercise to overhaul the commercial pilots licence (CPL) examination, will also update the syllabus and remove anomalies.
“We will be introducing a computer-based examination,’’ Director General Bharat Bhushan told Business Standard without giving a time frame for the launch of the new format. A DGCA-appointed committee comprising its officers and senior pilots is already working on the reform process.
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DGCA sources confirmed that the new system may be in place this July. “The present syllabus for CPL papers is not well defined and this confuses the students. Unlike the United States there are no question banks for reference. So students are left clueless about what to expect in the examination,’’ a DGCA official told Business Standard. At present, pilot aspirants are not allowed to take home the question papers from the examination hall.
Keeping in line with international standards, the DGCA will also publish a detailed question bank for all the technical papers.
Also, so far the syllabus and question papers were framed only by technical officers from the DGCA. Now, this process is set to change, and pilots will also be part of the panel framing the question papers. The committee has studied the syllabi followed in European countries and submitted its report. It has also prepared a question bank comprising of over 5,000 questions which will be relevant to the Indian context. “The aim is to make the examination process fair and transparent and bring it in line with international standards,’’ the official added.
Apart from the reforms in the selection process, the regulator is also verifying the records of 4,500 pilot licences and will begin audit of flying schools.
The DGCA holds written examinations for CPL and airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) four times a year. Candidates can appear for one or all the papers on air regulation, air navigation, meteorology, technical (general) and technical (specific). Candidates require 70 per cent marks to pass in each paper. Past results suggest that the failure rates are very high. In April 2010, less than two per cent candidates cleared the air navigation examination, co-pilot becomes a commander after getting the ATPL and a person with CPL can fly a plane as a co-pilot. There are about 4,500 ATPLs, while about 10,000 CPLs have been issued till date.
Three DGCA teams are currently auditing at least 40 flying schools across the country and the government has warned that those institutes found fudging records to grant pilots’ licences could be closed down immediately.
“Since there is no defined syllabus, students have no option but to study absolutely everything on a subject. The questions asked are vague and at times have errors. Clearing exams requires hard work and an element of good luck too. In such a system students are bound to approach touts. An aspiring pilot spends upto Rs 30 lakh on education. Many of them take loans and are desperate to obtain a licence. That explains the reason behind pilots obtaining licence using fraudulent means,’’ said a commander working with a private airline.
“The Federal Aviation Administration syllabus for CPL examination which is followed in the US is dynamic. In India, however, students study everything right from the time JRD Tata flew the plane till what is happening now. A lot of the stuff included in the syllabus here is obsolete,” said a pilot, who secured a licence from the United States, requesting anonymity.
