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Students of Quantum Aviation have defended the embattled flight training provider after the Government cut its access to student loans and allowances.
Forty-three trainee pilots in the North Island are facing the prospect of being unable to complete their qualifications after their applications for loans were rejected.
The students were turned down on the basis that Northland-based Quantum was not a recognised student component funded (SCF) aviation provider.
Students at non-SCF training providers became ineligible for loans and allowances from January 1. But Quantum is maintaining it had SCF status and says the Tertiary Education Commission assured the company its students would remain eligible for loans and allowances this year.
There are 16 students affected in Whangarei, 11 on Auckland's North Shore, and another 16 in Tauranga. They are at various stages of training to fly helicopters or planes.
The commission has told those in Whangarei that they will need to relocate to a funded provider - a move the students have rejected because there are no funded providers north of Auckland.
The Tertiary Education Commission met the Whangarei students last week and yesterday said their chances of continuing at Quantum were slim.
Commission spokesman James Turner said students had been advised "that relocation to a funded provider should be considered as their first option".
An 18-year-old, who says she got letters from StudyLink that her application for a $40,000 loan was being processed, said she did not want to move because living in Whangarei was cheap and close to her family.
She did not blame Quantum for the funding wrangle, saying it had been upfront with students and was doing its best to help.
A Tauranga student told the Herald the company was "fighting for us as much as us".
The Tauranga group have been told their training is likely to begin in the next fortnight after an agreement was reached for funding for the local flight school to come via an approved aviation provider rather than Quantum.
No decision has been made about the North Shore group, but a similar arrangement to Tauranga was likely, the commission said.
