17% Western Cape pass rate prompts probe into computerised learner’s test

Western Cape Mobility Minister Isaac Sileku has encouraged candidates to use learner’s licence study guides while his department investigates the province’s 17% pass rate in the computerised learner’s licence test (CLLT).

According to George Herald, Sileku visited George and Beaufort West for oversight visits to local driving licence testing centres to gather insight into the low pass rate.

His visits follow a written parliamentary reply to questions from the FF Plus and the DA provincial spokesperson on mobility, Prof Nomafrench Mbombo, which revealed that the province achieved an overall learner’s licence pass rate of 63% during the 2025/26 financial year, but the new CLLT recorded a pass rate of just 17%.

Local frustration over the test

George Herald previously reported on local community frustration about the CLLT. Allegations were made that, on average, only one or two people out of a group of about 20 candidates would pass, despite claiming thorough preparation.

Readers also complained about the long waiting times for rewriting dates, which adds months to the process of obtaining a learner’s licence.

Mbombo, who visited testing centres in George, Knysna and Bitou, said the parliamentary reply revealed that 142 100 CLLTs were conducted in the Western Cape between May 26, 2025, and July 9, 2026. During that period, 61 136 first-time applicants and 32 061 repeat applicants wrote the test, while the overall provincial pass rate remained below 20%.

Testing concerns and language barriers

“These results warrant closer scrutiny to better understand the factors contributing to the low pass rate.”

Mbombo said during her oversight visits, one George resident said they had failed the test more than five times despite repeated preparation.

Officials at the Pacaltsdorp Testing Centre reported an improvement in successful candidates, from one or two per group to five or six.

She said applicants complained that some questions appeared to have more than one reasonable answer, while the system recognised only one as correct. “These concerns warrant further investigation to ensure the CLLT fairly assesses applicants’ knowledge of the rules of the road, rather than their ability to interpret complex wording or ambiguous questions.”

Mbombo added that the parliamentary reply indicated the Road Traffic Management Corporation had not conducted an independent language proficiency assessment before introducing the computerised system, with language editing and translations completed during initial development in about 2007. “It is important to determine whether the language, terminology and reading level remain appropriate and accessible for today’s applicants.”

Support for the system

Mbombo said she supports the CLLT system in principle, but it should be a credible system that strengthens road safety ‘by ensuring applicants genuinely understand the rules of the road rather than relying on memorised paper-based answers’.

Sileku also visited public libraries where study guides are available free of charge. He encouraged candidates to use these guides to give themselves the best chance of passing. The guides are also available at testing centres and online through the NaTIS platform.

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