Thirty-Five driving schools were closed down by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), last year for not meeting the required standards.
Apart from the institutions not having qualified instructors, some did not have appropriate lecture halls and learning materials, including dual pedal vehicles for test drives.
The Chief Executive of DVLA, Rudolph P.K. Beckley, who disclosed this to The Ghanaian Times in Accra, said the schools were mainly located in Accra and Kumasi.
He said the decision was an outcome of a survey conducted by DVLA on all driving schools in the country which revealed that, while 135 of them met the required standards the 35 others were found to be sub-standard and until they meet the required standards, they would not be allowed to operate.
For instance, he said, their findings revealed that, while some of them had not registered with the Registrar General and DVLA, others have teachers and not instructors which was totally wrong.
“The instructor must be trained and certified by DVLA, to engage in a theoretical and practical training of persons wishing to drive a motor vehicle,” he said.
“Some do not also have adequate tables and chairs for students who sometimes stand outside and peep through windows,” he said.
Mr. Beckley said instead of some of the schools offering training for beginners, they provided higher training for persons who had applied to upgrade their licences to categories C,D or F, among others.
Licence C. drivers drive mini buses, D, Benz buses and other good carrying vehicles, E, is a specialized class for earth moving vehicles, graders, forklifts and pay loaders while ‘F’ are for drivers of coaches, buses and articulated trucks among others.
Besides instructors going through mandatory driving, testing and certification by the Authority, he said they were also required to go for practical attachment at recognized driving schools before allowing them to work as instructors.
He said the survey revealed that some of the classrooms were being used as a collation places for printing press houses.
“While some use the classrooms as administrative offices, others failed to display valid driving school registration certificates as required by DVLA.”
Mr. Beckley noted that anything that falls short of the requirement disqualifies such an institution to run a driving school.
He said the survey also established that most road crashes were either through the driver or the vehicle, adding that it was to check the carnage on the roads that the DVLA decided to assess the suitability of the schools which exposed the 35.
To streamline the system, Mr. Beckley said the Authority had now resorted to testing licence applicants electronically with the applicants answering 30 questions, 10 each on the road, the vehicle and the applicant’s aptitude.
He said, the study also revealed that road carnage had reduced from 567 in the first quarter of last year, to 327 within the same period this year, because of stringent measures the Authority adopted and appealed to prospective drivers to go to accredited driving schools for training.
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