Education department never promised free driver’s licences for learners

THE Gauteng Department of Education has never promised free K53 driver’s licences to learners.

MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We did not promise to offer driver’s licences to learners but we are committed to assisting Grade 11 learners to attain learner licences in all non-fee paying schools in Gauteng.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the department put the record straight with respect to the K53 learner driver programme.

“There is a misconception that the objective of the programme is to provide driver’s licences to learners. The programme, in fact, aims to empower learners in Grade 11 to obtain K53 learner driver licences at no cost to the learner or their parents.

“Ultimately, the responsibility to register for and obtain a driver’s licence rests with the learner. The project would have assisted by providing a learner’s licence free of charge,” Lesufi said.

The project is a joint initiative between the Gauteng Department of Education and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport. The main objective is to develop learners and provide them with critical life skills as part of youth empowerment. It also aimed at promoting road safety and awareness among Grade 11 learners.

Notable achievements of the programme to date include:

• 222 certified instructors have been employed and dispatched to different schools to conduct the necessary training and assist learners to write learner licence tests at different testing stations.

• 20 000 Grade 11 learners have been trained on the K53 Driver Instructor Programme and about 2 000 were tested for learner licences.

“Against this background, it important to emphasise that the outcome of the programme was to ensure that Grade 11 learners obtain a learner driver licence and not a driver’s licences. It is incumbent upon the learner to apply for a driver’s licence as soon as they obtain a learner licence,” Lesufi concluded.