Woza Friday, woza RossburghFriday was here and i went to Rossburgh with Jeofrey(in the scorching sun). To our luck, we met a group of Durban High School boys who were there for their learner's license test and got to ask them a couple of questions about their thoughts in relation to driving as part of the curriculum in schools. They pointed us to their teacher who had brought them there and he was kind enough to give us a detailed session of how the activity of organising for the boys to get where they are all started. All this information is detailed in the article we later wrote and edited with other members of our group, Seetha and Thabani, and has been posted on the online newspaper, inlicensed.
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Wednesday obstacle
This article writing process has not been an easy one mostly because we had to do a whole lot of running around but i guess that's what we got to go through in order to get the best output for the online newspaper,and i take it that it will be worth it in the long run.
We couldn't go to Rossburgh on wednesday as planned since Jeofrey was still in Richard's bay and he was the only one in our group who knew the place so we waited for friday.
Implementation of Driving in High Schools.
Unlike America and most European countries which allow people to get their driver's license at the age of 16, South African legislation insists on an age restriction of 18. Fortunately though most students in South Africa finish their high school careers at the age of 17 or 18 which makes it possible for some learners to acquire a license in their final year of school. A question that arose as a result of this was why the Department of Education does not collaborate with the Department of Transport to implement driving as a subject in the curriculum of the matric school system? Surely this would reduce the problems affecting the licensing system drastically?
Our group put our heads together and headed for the Rossburgh Testing Centre to find out what they thought of the idea. By chance we had met a Mr. Ncobeni, a teacher from a Durban High School who had come with his students to try and help them through the sometimes complicated process of obtaining their licenses. He had brought in a group of about 20-30 learners in their matric year,between the ages 18-20, who have been taking driving lessons at their school with a car that was donated by a certain company.
Mr Ncobeni went on to explain the motive behind his enthusiasm for the project. He mentioned that his aim is to give the boys a stepping stone into the "real world" as they are about to leave the comfort of a sheltered life in school and into the demanding world of university and work. The driving lesson project which is done purely for the benefit of the students, is a free service from the school and has been in practice for approximately 4 years. Mr. Ncobeni also made sure to mention that the traffic department at Rossburgh has been a great help in the project.
While he was enthusiastic about the project at their school, he expressed concerns at the idea of implementing driving as part of the school curriculum, stating that this could possibly hurt the business of driving schools in Durban because the number of customers they teach would drop.
To our surprise, the boys from Durban High School were against the idea of obtaining a license at age 16 reasoning that at that age, people are not mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving a car and so 18 is still the ideal age. However, they expressed optimism that adding driving lessons to the school curriculum would work well because it would help reduce the stress of having to queue at traffic departments and would also simplify the process.
Inspector K. Naidoo, chief inspector at Rossburgh, when interviewed, added that driving in schools (though not necessarily part of the curriculum) is beginning to increase. According to our source, the Minister of Transport will choose about 200 worthy schools whereby students in their matric year are taught how to drive and helped in obtaining their licenses free of charge. He declined to mention what criteria would be used to choose these schools but we feel that this is a step in the right direction.
Interviewers- Matalimo Selebalo
Jeofrey Zharare
Editors- Seetha Supersad
Thabane Dube
Tutu still cant shut up!For a young person like myself, Bishop Desmond Tutu is a great inspiration to that which seems so impossible. The most intriguing thing is that, he is still going strong even at 75. In fact, it is more like he just turned 18. Above all his qualities, I think honesty and truth take the trophy and he possesses a strength to speak out and say his mind even if it is not considered 'proper' at that point in time and space.
I am truely challenged by the way Bishop Desmond is so confident, frank but extremely humble at the same time. I guess my book selection now includes this new biography about this man with a humble heart and I predict it will have an enormous impact on my life.
click the above heading to view article.
Chocolate Beer!
This is so unbelievable, well to a certain extend,but chocolate beer is a bit over board. Well, I guess now chocolate lovers can enjoy their chocolate and get drunk at the same time, that's cool. On a serious note now, I am for this chocolate beer and I would love to believe that the response is going to be great. And to whoever came up with this idea, big-up's. I hope distribution of this chocolate beer will be in South Africa soon so we, beer and chocolate lovers can indulge.
click above heading to view article.
How has the transformation of acquiring a driver’s license affected society?A drivers license today is one of the core prerequisites for employment, not only in South Africa, but across the world. It is therefore important that the system and procedure of acquiring a license is strictly and properly managed. With all the changes that have occurred at licensing centers around South Africa, I guess the real question is “has the transformation in the process of acquiring a drivers license affected society, and if so, how?”
It’s clear that the new procedure of obtaining a drivers license is affecting society in different ways. To gain some depth on this issue Mr S. Ndlovu was interviewed, because he had the opportunity of experiencing both the old and the new procedure of acquiring his driver’s license. “The new procedure is much better because there is lesser opportunity for corruption and unfair treatment”, he told our interviewer. Mr Ndlovu also went on to say that there is now no more room for error since there is no human intelligence involved in this process therefore what you get is totally dependant on your performance in whichever test you are doing and not on the officers experience or knowledge.
Public impression in the local press is given that the new system does not accommodate the needs and expectations of those who are in need of a driver's license. Most people think that it is better if the test is not computerized because a computer is just a machine, programmed for perfection with no room for error, whereas if an instructor was in control, he is more flexible and not confined to exact measures. This is not to say that instructors should be blind to the mistakes of those tested and/or rely on bribery to further their own personal interests. With human beings, there is no perfect and exact method of driving.
To equally represent two generations' view on this topic, Mr B. Ngcobo, who worked as a driving instructor for more than seven years was interviewed. Speaking from experience, Mr Ngcobo argued differently to Mr Ndlovu, in that the old method was better then the current method. To support his argument Mr Ngcobo said that “the new method of acquiring a license was done through computer and therefore could not be trusted, since computers were just mere man-made machine which could malfunction at any time and end up causing more harm than good when testing learner drivers”. Mr Ngcobo also went on to say that he was utterly disgusted that officials at testing centers con learners applying for drivers tests by initiating bribes in order to get earlier test dates or preferential treatment. Driving school instructors are no longer allowed to register for their students’ tests and bookings must be done by the applicants themselves.
To add insult to injury the new drivers licensing legislation (where people have to go to test centers which are near their area of residence) has come under a lot of criticism mainly from driving instructors who have lost a lot of business because of the new legislation. An instructor who was interviewed said that the main problem he has is that when clients come in to learn how to drive he has to turn their business down because proof of residence is not supplied. Because the clients are not aware of the new legislation, instructors end up losing a lot of business. However he strongly feels that the government is fooling around with legislation without consulting the relevant stakeholders.
After all the pro’s and con’s have being taken into account, and having interviewed a diverse range of individuals on the topic at hand it shows that the new system might have more cons then was initially thought. This is shown in the large number of failures within the Rossburgh testing grounds.
Writer - Siyabonga Nkabinde
Interviewer – Manelisi Ndlovu
- Thaba Mchunu
Researches – Michael Mlungisi
- Matalimo Selebalo
