Eight more languages to be added to driving curriculum

DOHA: The General Directorate of Traffic is poised to make driving training more effective by adding eight more languages to driving curriculum which is currently available in 10 languages.

Captain Khalid Abdulaziz Al Ghanim from Licensing Section and General Supervisor of Driving Schools at the General Directorate of Traffic has disclosed that the reason behind high percentage of failure in driving licence test shows the keenness of the Department to reduce traffic accidents.

“The Department has tightened mechanisms of issuing driving licence and the aim is to decrease the rate of injuries and deaths resulting from traffic accidents,” Al Ghanim told The Peninsula.

Regarding the issue of the Unified Smart Training System in all driving schools, he said that the department is preparing a unified curriculum in more than 18 languages which are commonly used in Qatar instead of the existing 10 languages.

“This will make tests more easier for people, especially the ones who are not educated because when they will be taught traffic laws in their languages they will understand them better.”

“We are keen that the trainees must know Qatari traffic rules fully, especially the most common traffic violations to avoid them in driving like jumping red signal, parking at the spaces reserved for people with special needs etc,” he pointed out.

Al Ghanim has affirmed that every trainee has digital device in classrooms loaded with a comprehensive traffic curriculum consisting of audio and video information explaining the traffic rules and most common violations.

He added that among the positives of the unified smart training system is the fact that it was being implemented in all driving schools.

“The system also removes the chances of manipulation related to driving test and it records total hours that a trainee must attend. The curriculum was developed on the basis of training and international standards and also illiterate students who are unable to read and write in their languages can benefit from it.”

Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, the General Director of General Directorate of Traffic said earlier in an interview with The Peninsula that banning many job categories from applying for driving licence is a temporary decision and not a permanent one.

“Once the construction of roads is completed, the banned professions will be allowed to apply for driving licences. Actually, I cannot say it was a ‘ban’ but I can say it is just temporary decision” he had stressed.