PUTRAJAYA: A merit element will be introduced as an additional feature in the grading assessment of series 3 driving institute from next year, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pix).
The series 3 grading assessment, which was supposed to start in June this year (2020), was postponed to January next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will involve about 233 driving institutes nationwide, he said.
“The merit element is an added value to IM (driving institute) which offers five-star facilities,“ he said when officiating the grading award ceremony for the series 2 driving institute at his ministry, here today.
Driving institute series 1 grading assessment was implemented in October 2015 involving 200 driving institutes, with nine driving institutes receiving five-star ratings. Series 2 started in October 2016 involving 219 driving institutes, with 79 driving institutes getting a five-star rating.
The driving institute grading system is one of the methods used to improve the delivery system in all aspects, especially on driver competency.
Wee said driving institutes that have received five-star rating recognition can renew their licences once every three years, while four-star ratings, once every two years.
He said the merit element introduced in series 3 was developed together with industry players and entities such as the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) through a series of workshops to improve the quality of service and delivery of the driving training industry in Malaysia.
On the upgrade to five-star rating driving institutes in series 2 compared to series 1, Wee said it signified that the driving training industry was becoming more competitive and was constantly striving to improve the services provided.
Commenting on the rate of driving lesson fees which is said to be expensive in some states, Wee said there are driving institutes that provide additional packages such as transportation and food to its students.
“Many say the fees in Selangor are high. This is because the driving institute provides additional package such as food and if their students live far away they provide transportation and as such we allow the driving institute to charge 50 sen per km,“ he said.
The rate of lesson fees applied to all driving institutes is still the same, RM350 for class B2 driving licence and RM1,150 for class D licence, he said.-Bernama
