Recently, the Minister of Transport signed a decision to stop the creation of new driving schools for the next 12 months, after series of road accidents raised doubts over the credibility to these driving schools.

In the South West Region, the Regional Delegate for Transport, Ivo Vevanje says only 12 of the 20 driving schools in the region are recognised. He adds that the next driving exams took place on November 29.

He went on to describe the ministers’ decision liberalising inter-subdivisional transportation as a way to provide better services to commuters through positive competition. He insists that safety on our highways necessitates reforms. He spoke to The SUN’s Fako Bureau Chief, Atia Tilarious Azohnwi.

What is the situation with driving schools in the South West? Of the 20 driving schools in the south west region, 12 of them are authorised by the ministry of transport to operate. Of these 12 driving schools that are authorised, we still face difficulties with the situation of the schools.

A handful of them have classrooms which do not meet up with the recommended standards and others do not have the required didactic materials for the training. We therefore are expecting that, over time, with the spontaneous controls that we are going to carry out, we will talk to the proprietors of these driving schools, encourage and motivate them to improve.

Our goal is for drivers to be trained to meet acceptable standards so that accidents can be reduced to near zero. They’ll have to train drivers who are professionally upright.

For the regularity of these driving schools, as soon as a driving school is authorised by the ministry, it has the right to conduct training and send in candidates for driving examination sessions.

The uphill task we have is to ensure that this training is done with the specifications which are put in place so that at the end of the day, we should not have regrets of the kind of drivers to whom we provide driver’s licences.

Is there a harmonised curriculum for the driving schools provided by the Ministry of Transport?

The driving schools have a syndicate and it is one of the preoccupations of the syndicate to ensure that they come up with a standard curriculum which is validated by the ministry and is then used by all the driving schools.

For now, they have a curriculum used by the different driving schools to train drivers. To operate a driving school, you need to be yourself a trained driver and also a drivers’ training. You should be a bearer of a CAPET certificate which gives you the right to train others who intend to become drivers.

Therefore, it is a well organised sector with the training of well qualified teachers who come in to train our drivers.

I should call your attention to the fact that being a driver does not make you a trainer of trainees. You need to be trained as a trainer to be able to train other people.

We do have such training facilities to train trainers in driving schools in the South West precisely in Buea and of course, as we speak, the examination for 2014 is on-going and at the end of the exams, if those sitting in succeed, we will have 30 new trainers in the region.

When will the next driving exams be conducted in the region?

The next driving test will be coming up on November 29, 2014. This will be the last session for this year. We expect that eligible driving schools will submit lists of the candidates they have trained to take the exams.

We have a total of nine driving exams conducted in Buea as main centre and Fontem and Mundemba as sub-centres. We are putting efforts together alongside proprietors of driving schools in Manyu and Meme Division to ensure that we create new sub-centres in these areas to facilitate things for those in these areas.

Can an unauthorised driving school send in candidates for the exams?

A driving school which is not authorised by the ministry does not have the mandate to send in candidates for the driving exams. Therefore, after training candidates, they will have to register them under recognised driving schools.

What we are doing this far is to work alongside proprietors of these schools to have their situation regularised. Given that they were already operation, the military will give them the latitude to gain recognition.

Is your delegation still exchanging non-computerised drivers’ licences for the computerised ones?

Those still keeping a non-computerised driving licence it means you don’t have a drivers licence. Those who are caught by any control without the computerised driving licence will pay a fine of FCFA 25,000 to the state treasury.Drivers with non-computerised drivers’ licence should do all to get one.

Transport minister recently signed a decision encouraging inter-communal transportation by taxi drivers. What will change?

About the recent decision of the minister allowing taxi drivers to drive into neighbouring towns, I must say it is a decision that comes to meet the needs of the drivers and discourage clandestine transportation.

For example, taxi drivers in Buea who are in possession of all recommended documents can drive to neighbouring Tiko, Limbe and Muyuka. Of course, they will only have to transport the recommended number of passengers as specified by their transporters licences.

This is also going to provide for competition in the transport sector and give room for improved services. Those buses that have been doing the task of transporting commuters will remain in business but will have to offer better services.