Driving schools: Transport Administration's ineptitude cause of exam failure chaos
According to the Estonian Driving Schools Association, the Transport Administration has introduced low-quality exam questions, which have caused exam results to drop by six to seven times below the usual level. The association stated that the responsible officials should resign due to the resulting chaos.
The Estonian Driving Schools Association believes that the wording of the new national theory exam questions is unclear, the new diagrams make answering more difficult and some questions have been incorrectly entered into the system (e.g., the answer repeats the question). Examples of the exam questions published in the media already point to clear problems.
"Passing rates around 10 percent are neither typical nor normal. This is an extraordinary situation in Estonia's history, and there is no similar precedent in Europe," the association noted in its statement.
The association recalled that the last update of the exam questions in 2019 did not result in a significant drop in passing rates. However, officials from the Administration's driver licensing department do not see the problem, plan to take no action and blame the driving schools.
"Trainers have not suddenly become worse over the summer of 2024, learners have not become six or seven times more foolish in a week and the teaching methods and platforms have not lost their quality. This is yet another instance of specific officials' incompetence. A person without the relevant education and experience cannot be responsible for organizing a theory exam solely because they are an official and hold a driver's license."
The Driving Schools Association stated that they have been highlighting serious and systemic issues with the organization of national exams for years, but with no results.
"This time, however, the situation has far-reaching consequences. The driver training and examination process across Estonia has essentially come to a halt – without passing the theory exam, one cannot proceed to the practical driving test. This also affects the Defense Forces, with conscript training already behind schedule, causing serious security concerns for the Estonian state."
In their letter to the director general of the Transport Administration, the association demands that (1) the Transport Administration abandon its defensive stance, immediately remove the new exam questions and launch a thorough internal audit; and (2) relieve from duty the officials whose incompetence has led to the current situation.
Additionally, the association suggests that its members refrain from sending learners to the national theory exam, as it does not effectively assess knowledge and only results in financial losses due to exam fees.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
