DGCA may allow arts, commerce 12th pass students to turn pilots

NEW DELHI: Class 12 pass-outs from arts and commerce streams may soon be allowed to become commercial pilots in India. In a major reform, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is considering removing the current eligibility requirement of a student having physics and maths in class 12 for commercial pilot licence (CPL) training. Of course, medical fitness criteria will remain for all.

In India, this field has been open only for science and maths students since mid-1990s. Before that, class 10th pass was the only educational requirement for doing CPL.

"Once finalised, this recommendation will be sent to the Union aviation ministry. When they approve it, CPL training will be open for eligible students across streams," said people in the know.

Veteran pilot Captain Shakti Lumba, who retired as IndiGo VP-flight operations and headed Alliance Air before that, says no country other than India has the requirement of physics and maths at class 12 level as eligibility criteria for CPL training. "This is an archaic requirement. The physics and maths taught in 12th is not needed by pilots. They already have the required understanding of these subjects from whatever they have studied in junior classes," he said.

Several flying school operators also questioned the current rule.

Now, finally this condition may go as the aviation ministry is looking at various options to streamline pilot training in India to meet the manpower requirement of its booming airline industry.