HAVING a driver’s licence and being able to operate a motor vehicle is no longer just a luxury, it has become a requirement for securing employment opportunities.
Since the beginning of this year the City of Ekurhuleni, in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Department of Education, have been on a drive to equip high school learners from across the region with driving knowledge while they are still in school.
The grade 11 and 12 classes of 2015 are the first beneficiaries of this initiative and the scholars are set to receive their learner driver’s licence, which will be valid for a period of two years, for free.
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“The aim of the project is to instil the culture of adhering to the rules of the road in young people’s minds as well as to do away with the irregularities of acquiring driver’s licences,” said Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
With the department of education being the financial muscle for this project, driver’s licence testing centres (DLTCs) will offer professional services such as the applications for learner’s licences, issuing of learner’s licences, including learner’s licence classes for scholars.
Currently, 141 of the 161 high schools in Ekurhuleni are participating in the programme.
Grade E DLTCs, currently located in Tsakane and Thokoza, are also involved in the project. The satellite centres also offer services such as the renewal of motor vehicle licences, application for the renewal of driver’s licences and the renewal of public driving permits to the community at large at normal municipal licensing tariffs.
The DLTC’s operating hours are from 8am until 3pm during weekdays. They also operate on Saturdays from 8am until noon to accommodate scholars. The centres close on the last Saturday of every month.
Schools that are interested in enlisting in the programme can call Ronald Fillies on 011-999-0227.
