The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) would like to put the record straight with respect to the K53 Learner Driver Programme.
In a recent press release GDE spokesperson, Oupa Bodibe states: “There is some misplaced misconception that the objective of the programme is to provide driver licenses to learners”.
The programme, in fact, aims to empower learners in Grade 11 to obtain K53 learner driver license at no cost to the learner or their parents.
“Ultimately, the responsibility to register for and obtain driver licenses rests with the learner and the project would have assisted by providing a learners license free of charge,” says Bodibe.
The project is a joint initiative between the GDE and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
Bodibe says 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.
The notable achievements of the programme to date include the following:
• There are 222 certified instructors employed and dispatched to different schools.
They conduct necessary training and assist learners to write learner licenses tests at different testing stations.
• About 20 000 Grade 11 learners have been trained on the programme and about 2 000 were tested for learner licenses.
Against this background, it important to emphasise that the outcome of the programme was to ensure that Grade 11 learners obtain learner driver license and not drivers’ licenses. It is incumbent upon the learner to apply for a drivers’ license as soon as they obtain a learners’ license.
MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We did not promise to offer drivers’ licenses to learners but committed to assisting Grade 11 learners to attain learner licenses in all non-fee paying schools in Gauteng”.
