Mozambique: More and more drivers unable to read or write in Gaza

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Mozambique: More and more drivers unable to read or write in Gaza

12:14 CAT | 29 Jan 2018

More and more citizens are getting their driving licenses in the southern province of Mozambique without being able to read or write Portuguese, the official language, the provincial prosecutor’s office there complains.

Josefina Brito, a prosecutor in Xai-Xai, says more and more drivers, with a license but who cannot read or write Portuguese, appear in court because of road accidents unable to speak Portuguese.

“When driving classes are being taught, they are taught in ordinary Portuguese, easy and understandable,” she notes. “So it is not possible that they do not know how to speak Portuguese. How then did they understand the classes they were taught?” she asks.

Driving schools say that the issue is more complex. Silvano Nuvunga, from the Xai-Xai driving school, says that his establishment complies with the law. Everyone who signs up at the school has a signed identification card and completes a form, as well as filling out a form at INATTER, which issues driving licenses.

“On registration, we fill in the contact data form between the school and the candidate. We then send the candidate to INATTER for photos, and there is a form there too. It becomes difficult to understand how, with all this process, there can be drivers saying they cannot read or write Portuguese,” he says.

Schools do not follow the rules

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According to driving schools, class instructors do not notice that there are students who cannot read or write. Code exams are done in the schools and supervised by INATTER. Previously, these were written exams, but, a short time ago, they began to be conducted by computer. The question that arises is how students can pass the exam if they cannot read or write.

According to Silvano Nuvunga, “There are students who cannot read or write, but when put on the computer, can get 12, 17, 18 correct questions because of multiple choice questions”.

The provincial Directorate for Transport and Communications in Gaza, Alberto Matusse, believes that some schools are not meeting standards, and has promised to intensify enforcement and inspections to see if schools are using the computer system in driving lessons. This is also aimed at to putting an end to fraudulent practices.

Matusse says there is a “need to carry out inspections”. At a minimum, he adds, it is required that driving schools have two monitors “to attend to the candidates”.

He warned that all schools without the minimum conditions required by law would be closed this year.

Create alternatives

Jaime Leonor, manager of the Limpopo driving school in Xai-Xai city, reminds people not to marginalise people who cannot read or write but who need a driving license. Leonor suggests that an alternative would be to introduce an oral examination.

“What do we do with these people?” he asks, referring to people who “leave South Africa” and drive to Mozambique without a driving license. “They cannot read or write. Continue to let them drive illegally, is that fair?”

Leonor says it is necessary to “look for a law to integrate them. When I took my driving license, there were oral exams”.

Source: Deutsche Welle