All Kerala Motor Driving School Instructors and Workers Association Malappuram district secretary about the new reform and its implications while the changes in driving tests are being discussed in the state.
Hanifa Alizath writes…..
In recent years, a topic that has been constantly discussed in Kerala is the education and licensing system. We have not yet discussed why the education schools are protesting. The new innovations are not like the A and I camera system or the helmet system. Basically, the education school sector in Kerala is not opposed to new reforms, but the changes that have been in place for ages should be implemented on the basis of proper study and evaluation and in a timely manner. Reform proposals without infrastructure are seen as waste.
Out of the 86 testing centers in Kerala, none of the new systems are currently under government control. But based on the study of road safety agencies including Natpak, even the computerized test tracks built at a cost of crores have not started functioning on a full scale. Apart from the H test, these include parking and gradients. But due to technical failure, these tracks are only conducting H test by inserting wire. If these are implemented flawlessly across Kerala, it will be equivalent to implementing a modern testing system.
But we resist the attempt to lay the whole burden of the new reforms on the heads of the laboring redawing schools for the expenses of the day. But not the new drawing license system. Reading test is conducted in 77 centers in Kerala as a result of efforts and hard work of reading school students. The Transport Commissioner’s Circular 4/2024 reverses this.
In Kerala the diving trainings and tests are conducted smoothly by the diving schools with unparalleled cooperation and creative dedication. The general public is now convinced that many testing grounds do not exist because they are leased or protected by the government. But when it is defined that the entire responsibility of the reform is to be taken by the redeving schoolchildren, even the labor organizations standing on the side of the government should take a strict stand and come to the front of the struggle by calling for the boycott and prevention of the redeving test. 4/2024 is viewed as an illegally imposed circular by the Redwing school of party politics. At the same time, we would have opposed circular 27/2013 if it was against the reforms that have changed over time. Rather, they have been approved and implemented. Circular 4/24 is a clear example of how the government of India intended to bring more reforms in this field, but it did not affect the existing redrawing schools across the country, but circular 4/24 is a clear example of how the people who are supposed to be protected are turning into killers. The request of Redawing school students is to prepare the material situation and opportunity in time. While common two-wheeler training in riding schools has established beyond doubt that manual gear shifting increases the risk of accidents, vehicles like auto-rickshaws shift gear only on the hand gear bar. The problem is not about shifting gears with your hands and feet, but whether you can drive the vehicle safely.
The finding that vehicles older than 15 years should be excluded from driving school permits and that they pose a safety issue is also wrong.

But no one has been reported to have been killed in road accidents due to mechanical failure or lack of safety of redwing school vehicles. An average of 4,500 people die in road accidents in Kerala every year, but it is not known that a redwing school vehicle caused such an accident. Also, no specific period of 15 years has been fixed under the Motor Vehicle Act. What we need to understand is that in other states, if you apply for a driving test, you get a learner’s license the next day and a driving license in 30 days. But under the new reforms, learners are waiting for their license for more than a month. Long wait to get learners. There is no way to know which day you will receive the drawing test. After four to five months, the six months of the learner’s license will have expired. Disappointment again. In the days to come we will realize that this endless waiting is more of a public problem than the redrawing school children. As a result, the needy are not allowed to drive. Many of the general public are not only those who have studied at drawing schools, but also those who apply directly. The appointment of those who had applied in the month of December and January was canceled the other day. That too because of the non-existent covid. The general public will have to bear the penalty of driving without a license.
An ordinary person applies for a license not as a show or a show, but as a part of everyday life. A father, mother and three children traveling on a two-wheeler is a common sight. This is not a show, it is a life situation. In a country with such a fact, when the law is made, the face of the poor in the society should be seen in front. Laws enforced in civilized countries must be decided with greater importance when imposed on a common society. At present, more than eight and a half lakh people are waiting for a drawing license in Kerala. The basic reason behind the proposal not to use vehicles older than 15 years in diving schools is that such vehicles do not have modern safety features.
A license today would be beyond what a common man’s daily budget could afford if he practiced driving on vehicles costing over 20 lakhs with the most advanced systems like cruise control, parking assistance, sound dictation, SRS and ABS. With 70 years of experience in Kerala, reddiving schools have been providing licenses for reddiving training at a low fee according to the needs of the common man. At present many of the drawing schools are making efforts to convert to the modern method. Computer simulator training, dredging training yard, parking training and gradient training are being prepared. The general public should recognize the way in which a section is being trampled under the rug of being opposed to reforms when educational schools spontaneously introduce modern changes for the public good in a timely manner. By pointing out the anomaly of Circular 4/24, the Redwing School Organizations in Kerala are observing strike and black day from tomorrow. The All Kerala Motor Riding School Instructors and Workers Association, by observing Black Day, has issued a strong warning to the concerned to desist from trying to eliminate a self-employed section of the society by imposing wrong guidelines and making a living without making a mockery of itself. We also have a firm hope of the unrelenting support and cooperation of the general public.