VP Naseem looks for "permanent solutions" for Addu flying school students

Vice President Faisal Naseem met with cabinet members on Wednesday to find permanent solutions to the issues faced by students at the Asian Academy of Aeronautics (AAA).

The Asian Academy of Aeronautics, accredited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Maldivian Civil Aviation Department, was established in southernmost Addu City in 2010. The AAA provides flight training for professional pilots, graduates receive a JAA-compliant license recognized by ICAO member countries.

While students at AAA have raised multiple concerns over its operations, Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation recently said that it is investigating complaints into the dismissal of students from the academy. The academy is also accused of failing to provide flight training to students who have successfully passed examinations as well as continuing to collect student fees despite delaying course completion, for years.

Students have shared these concerns with relevant government institutions on various occasions.

Vice President met with Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Aishath Nahula, as well as other relevant senior officials, on Wednesday to discuss and find permanent solutions to the issues faced by the students enrolled at AAA.

He stressed that “nurturing a resourceful youth workforce and providing them with opportunities to improve through training and education is a key priority of the incumbent administration”.

Further noting that one of the most frequent concerns raised by students of the flying academy is that completion of training at AAA is often delayed by years which leads to greatly increased expenditure and opportunity cost, Naseem urged the relevant institutions “to work together with the AAA to find a solution that would address their concerns and allow them to complete their pilot training within a reasonable time frame”.

The vice president met with members of the Civil Service Commission of Maldives on Wednesday as well. While the meeting mostly focused on the occasional health emergencies faced by civil service staff and their families which require them to take an absence from work, the possibility of increasing paid leave in such scenarios was discussed at the meeting. They also discussed ways to better accommodate civil service employees with serious medical conditions, such as Thalassaemia patients or persons with disabilities, who require extra support, to ensure that they are not alienated or discriminated against.

The President’s Office noted that providing the "best possible work atmosphere for all civil service staff without any bias or discrimination" is one of the administration’s major priorities.