THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Despite Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar bringing in a truce to end the strike of driving school operators almost a month ago, the process to gain the confidence of driving applicants in the state is taking longer than expected.
With a notable rise in the failure rate and recent directives from the motor vehicle department (MVD), applicants are approaching the procedure cautiously. Driving school operators report a significant 70% reduction in fresh admissions.
“People are hesitant to enrol in driving schools until the situation stabilises. With dwindling admissions, we are now providing refresher training to those awaiting test slots or those who failed the road test,” said Nazar Usman, general secretary of Motor Driving Owners Koottayma. More than 300,000 applicants are currently awaiting test slots.
The minister had assured that steps will be taken to clear the backlog by deploying officials from the enforcement wing. However, the decision is yet to be implemented.
Consequently, applicants with learner’s licences close to expiration are compelled to renew the same, incurring additional expenses. “The department collects fees for driving tests but fails to conduct them promptly. As a result, the applicants must spend an additional `800 to renew their learner’s licenses. Someone should be held accountable for this chaos,” said Nazar.
A senior MVD officer, who did not wish to be named, agreed that the new measures adopted for driving tests were impractical and will worsen the situation. “It affects the most vulnerable aspirants who are looking to earn a living by taking up gig work. They may lose the opportunity due to the delay in getting a licence,” said the officer.
Besides delays, driving schools are grappling with the new directives for conducting tests, including the mandatory presence of driving school instructors at testing grounds and insistence by the motor vehicle inspectors that applicants use vehicles registered with their chosen driving school. The operators allege the directives lack legal backing and seem designed to harass them.
“Presence of qualified instructors on the testing ground should not be mandatory. However, it was aimed at pushing some instructors to undergo MVD’s expensive training. Implementation of the promises made by the minister during conciliatory talks is slow,” said M S Prasad, general secretary of All Kerala Motor Driving School Instructors and Workers Association.
Various driving school owners’ associations had staged protests against the driving test reforms introduced by Ganesh from May 1 to 15 and challenged the same in the High Court. The next hearing is scheduled for June 12.