Air force stalls in pursuit of equity aim

Generals say the ideal racial make-up cannot be reached by the planned date

THE South African Air Force (SAAF) is struggling to achieve a pilot corps that reflects the country's racial makeup. Despite affirmative action plans, more than 90% of its fulltime pilots are white and just more than 7% are African. Indians and coloureds make up 1,2% each of the pilot corps. This is very far from its goal of 64% African, 24% white, 10% coloured, and 2% Indians. The air force's equity plan, dubbed Vision 2012, also hopes to achieve an equal gender make-up.

Its generals admit that they cannot achieve this by 2012 and cannot give a date when it will be reached. They say it depends on maths and science standards at schools and the air force's ability to attract potential pilots in the face of tough competition from the likes of South African Airways.

The Freedom Front (FF) has accused the air force of lowering its standards in its attempt to implement affirmative action.

This came after Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, in reply to an FF question in Parliament, said student pilots were allowed to fail all their subjects and rewrite two exams, which they can pass with only 40%. In a later "clarification" of this the air force insisted that absolutely none of their standards had been lowered. To obtain a BMil degree from Stellenbosch University, students must receive an overall pass mark of 50%, but if they rewrite a subject they must obtain at least 40%. In the practical subject of emergency procedures, student pilots are required to achieve a 95% mark, in aircraft handling 80%, and in aircraft technical aspects 60%. Failure to pass a rewrite in any of these courses means the student fails.

There is a year-long preparatory programme focusing on maths and science for students who did not reach university entrance levels in those subjects in matric. For those who make slow progress in flying skills, "parallel tracking" was introduced last year. This allows slow learners to receive individual attention for as long as they are making progress. Out of the class of 11 due to obtain their wings in December, two are on the parallel track.

Maths and science entry standards were lowered for the student pilot intake that obtained its wings at the end of last year. But when more than half dropped out before the programme ended, the standards were raised again.

"We are learning to get it right," says Brig -Gen Ernie Schmidt, air force director of education, training and development.

In 1994, when the homeland defence forces, the non-statutory forces and the South African Defence Force were integrated, there were 17 African pilots. Today there are 25 Africans out of the 342 full-time SAAF pilots. Two of the 47 full-time fighter pilots are Africans.

The air force has launched a schools-based aviation programme called Siyandiza to grow the idea that anyone can fly. To improve the maths and science abilities of prospective pilots, the defence department and arms maker Denel initiated a Youth Foundation Training Project. The results of the year-long programme, now in its third year, are "quite spectacular", says Col Nic Oosthuisen, a senior staff officer for the air force's basic flying training programme.

Selection procedures are above reproach, he insists, with a racially representative board making final decisions . Height and weight criteria have been changed to allow more blacks and females into training. As a temporary measure, the minimum age by which wings must be obtained has been raised from 24 to 28. The air force has also been reviewing its "enabling environment" and has raised the ranks of the trainees from candidate officers to second lieutenants. And it has put Microsoft's Flight Simulator game on computers in the rooms of trainee pilots.

Business Day