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Ivory Coast
Index
Before independence, military training was conducted
almost
exclusively by French personnel either on the job or at
institutions in France, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire. Most
training
was based on informal arrangements. Only a few officers
and NCOs
were sent to France for advanced professional and
technical
training. Since independence, as it has acquired the
necessary
expertise, Côte d'Ivoire has assumed responsibility for
training
its own armed forces. In November 1961, France transferred
the EMPT
located at Bingerville to the new Ivoirian government. At
that
time, the school taught only specialized technical
subjects, such
as communications and automotive mechanics. Because the
new
government intended to use the military as a means to
promote the
ethos of national service and to teach skills relevant to
national
development, the programs were immediately expanded to
include
agricultural and construction skills.
Since assuming control of the EMPT at Bingerville,
FANCI
gradually expanded the curriculum. Students entered the
academy
after their first year of secondary education and remained
there
throughout secondary school
(see Education
, ch. 2).
Students took
military training and academic courses simultaneously
throughout
the program. Initially, the curriculum stressed technical
and
vocational subjects, but by 1988 it was expanding to
include
courses in the humanities and social sciences so that
graduates
would qualify for entrance into universities in Côte
d'Ivoire and
Europe. Students were admitted to the school following a
competitive examination, and graduates could either enter
FANCI
with a commission or proceed to college. About 86 percent
of those
admitted completed the program and graduated. In addition
to
training Ivoirian students, the Bingerville academy also
accepted
pupils from other francophone African countries, such as
Niger,
Burkina Faso, Gabon, Senegal, and Central African
Republic. The
school had a French commandant and employed both military
and
civilian faculty, including a sizable number of French
instructors.
In 1982 the school was reported to have almost 500
students, more
than 40 French civilian professors, and several French
military
instructors.
In July 1963, FANCI established its own school, the
EFA, at
Bouaké. The EFA subsequently became a regional military
training
center serving francophone West Africa. It also was headed
by a
French commandant. The EFA selected officer and NCO
candidates
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five by
competitive written
and oral examinations administered annually; officer
candidates had
to hold a baccalaureate degree. By 1983, the twentieth
anniversary
of the EFA, 251 Ivoirian officers and 48 officers from
Gabon, 38
from Togo, 32 from Senegal, 20 from Central African
Republic, 15
from Niger, 7 from Burkina Faso, and 6 from Chad had
received
commissions from the school.
Until 1983 all training for FACI pilots was provided in
France
in a four-year program of instruction. Following a 1982
FrancoIvoirian agreement, however, a basic pilots' training
school was
opened at the Bouaké air base in April 1983. France
provided the
aircraft, operating budget, and matériel for the one-year
program.
By 1986 enrollees also included non-Ivoirians. Ivoirian
students
were selected by FACI, and the training was conducted by
the French
aircraft manufacturer Aerospatiale. The program included
140 hours
of training. Graduates were awarded a pilot's license and
went to
France for further flight training in transports or jets,
depending
on their aptitude. Officer candidates had to meet advanced
mathematics qualifications, and NCOs were required to have
completed the equivalent of one year of postsecondary
education. On
the basis of the selection examination, candidates were
divided
into three groups for specialized duties. Candidates who
scored the
highest could become pilots; those who scored in the
middle group
could become mechanics or communications technicians; and
those who
scored in the lowest category could be trained for other
occupations. Mechanics, communications technicians, and
most other
specialists were trained in Côte d'Ivoire. Because of its
small
size and the specialized technical expertise required,
FACI
recruited for officers and NCO candidates through
selective
examinations given only once a year.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs had also operated a
number of
training institutions for Ivoirian and West African naval
and
merchant marine personnel. These schools were transferred
to the
Ministry of Defense and Maritime Affairs in December 1987.
In 1975
plans were unveiled for a regional 1,500-student
naval/merchant
marine academy in Abidjan to serve the needs of the
Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other
inter-African
organizations to which Côte d'Ivoire belonged. By 1983
several
training facilities were in operation, including the
Merchant
Marine Training Academy, the Academy of Oceanographic
Sciences and
Technology, the Regional Maritime Instruction Center, and
the
Center for Antipollution Control. These regional training
institutions and others were supported by the United
Nations, the
European Development Fund, and other international
organizations.
Several countries, particularly France and Japan, also
provided
aid. France supplied most of Côte d'Ivoire's naval craft
as well as
maritime training; Japan furnished the Navy's only
training ship,
trained Ivoirian naval officers, contributed more than
US$500,000
toward the construction of the Abidjan Naval Academy, and
participated in the phased expansion of the Naval Academy
and the
Abidjan port facilities.
Data as of November 1988
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