Paying driving instructors extra on the day of a test and, in particular, on passing has always been a common practice. The extra is said to compensate for the time the instructor lost waiting for his/her student’s turn for the test or, in the case of passing, in celebration.
However, instructors are demanding RO 35 to RO 40 on test days, and up to RO 50 from students who pass. Nobody knows who set the system but it’s holding learners to ransom.
I am troubled by how and why they charge this amount even when someone fails a driving test. It is high time the authorities intervened because instructors are taking advantage of the situation.
Paying extra after passing or to compensate for the lost hours waiting for their students to take the test is understandable, but RO 35 to RO 40 even when you fail is unacceptable. Who set this price?
Many years ago when I learned how to drive, instructors asked for a reasonable amount – RO 10 – from students who passed. Now, with RO 35 to RO 40 demanded even after failing a test, the whole process of getting a driving licence has become an expensive affair.
I don’t see any sense in this system and hence appeal to the authorities to look into the matter. Having to pay such a high amount after failing is like paying for the failure, which to some may mean your teacher teaches you to fail.
I understand that the Royal Oman Police only charges RO 5 as a booking fee for the test but instructors charge a minimum of RO 35 just to take their students to the test in their cars for less than ten minutes.
When I enquired why driving students need to pay after failing, instructors did not have a valid reason, claiming it’s just how everyone else does it. Something has to be done about this.
On the other side of the story, while chatting with one of many driving instructors, I came to learn that they also have expenses, mainly petrol price which has gone up. Additionally, there are insurance costs, which are high for them, and frequent car works that need to be done because of daily wear and tear.
One other instructor told me that he would be happy to lower the rates of driving tests, but unfortunately, there are so many factors to be considered. In his estimation, the cost of insurance for driving school vehicles has more than doubled compared to private vehicles.
In addition, there are different government fees that they have to pay. Also, on the day of the test, they spend time waiting for their student’s turn to give the test. In doing so, they claim to lose actual instruction time.
They also claim that another issue is that each instructor is allowed only two tests per week. If they are allowed more than that, they would probably reduce the amount knowing that they can earn more as more tests are slotted for them.
He informed me that individual instructors fix the amount and that no authority is involved in this.
However, are these valid reasons? I leave this question to my readers to answer. Till next ...
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