New driving schools in the offing

Bahrain is seeking to open new driving schools in a bid to reduce the long waiting hours learners suffer to be trained and tested.

In a reply to a parliamentary inquiry, the General Directorate of Traffic informed that “there are 578 licensed instructors in Bahrain and 28 who are undergoing training,” confirming that “the directorate is tending to privatise the driving learning sector.”

The directorate’s statements came in a meeting with the Council of Representative’s Foreign Affairs, National Security and Defence Committee, while discussing a proposal to increase the numbers of driving instructors.

The proposal was presented by MPs Abdulhaleem Murad, Mohammed Al Ahmed, Jamal Dawood, Mohsen Al Bakry and Osama Al Khaja.

They informed the committee that “the existing numbers of instructors isn’t sufficient to cope with the increasing numbers of learners in the country, resulting in making them wait for long periods before they could learn driving and receive their licences.”

The MPs justified the proposal saying, “There is a noticeable increase in the numbers of requests for driving licences, be it requested by citizens or residents, considering the growing population of Bahrain.”

“This will also contribute in creating job opportunities for citizens of both genders who seek employment in this field, subsequently reducing employment in the Kingdom,” they added.

The directorate confirmed to the committee that it had recently increased the numbers of instructors and it’s intending to permit private driving schools to operate in Bahrain.

Representatives of the directorate confirmed to committee members that it had received several offers from private driving learning establishments.

The committee approved the proposal and will soon present to the council for endorsement.