From the next deadline for taking the driving test, instead of 16 examination committees, there will be three more, and the members, examiners from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will rotate every three months, alternately.
This was told to "Vijesti" by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation.
As they added, this will contribute to ensuring that the practical part of the driving test does not take several days for examiners in the future, that the criteria of the examination committees are uniform, and that the goal is to ensure equal conditions for all driving schools.
At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Education adopted a regulation defining the licensing of members of the commissions (authorized examiners) for taking the driving test, and in February 2024, the education program on the basis of which such licenses are obtained was adopted.
"In accordance with the Law on Road Traffic Safety, the Ministry of Education is responsible for forming examination committees for taking the driving test. The examination committee consists of two authorized examiners - a representative of the Ministry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a third member who is a representative of the driving school. In Montenegro, we currently have 66 driving schools, and so far we have had 16 examination committees that conduct driving tests. From the next exam period, we have increased the number of examination committees to 19, while representatives of the Ministry of Road Traffic Safety, i.e. the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will rotate every three months," the department headed by Anđela Jakšić Stojanović told "Vijesti".
They added that they decided to increase the number of examination committees "because, due to the increase in the number of candidates taking the driving test, as well as the duration of the practical part of the driving test, the exams for some examination committees last several days."
"Also, the rotation of examination committee members was introduced with the aim of standardizing the criteria of examination committees and creating equal conditions for all driving schools in Montenegro. All activities we carry out are aimed at increasing the quality of training in driving schools, the implementation and organization of driving exams, and thus increasing the level of road safety and the knowledge of future drivers," they told "Vijesti".
Two providers, more than 50 examiner licenses
The department headed by Jakšić Stojanović also said that the conditions have been created for the implementation of training and exams for examiners for driving licenses. Thus, now slightly more than 50 people in Montenegro have a license that allows them to be on the examination committees.
Those interested in obtaining such a license can take the exams at one of two education providers, which, based on a decision from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, are authorized to conduct training for future examiners.
The Ministry adopted the Regulation on the content of the application for the issuance or extension of a license for an authorized examiner for taking a driving test, the content of the license, and the content and method of keeping records of issued licenses in December 2023. In February of the following year, the National Education Council also adopted the Education Program for Acquiring Key Skills for an Authorized Examiner for Taking a Driving Test.
The program, based on which skills are acquired for an examiner (member of the commission) for the driving test, is carried out by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Montenegro and the private educational institution "Archimedes" from Berane.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation told "Vijesti" that 54 licenses for examiners have been issued so far.
In September 2024, a new Rulebook on the organization and implementation of driving tests was adopted.
They complained about the work of the commissions.
The editorial team had previously sent the Ministry an inquiry about licenses for examiners for driving exams after receiving unofficial information about several complaints about the work of the examination committee, or rather its members, and candidates were, among other things, interested in whether members of the driving exam committees had licenses to perform that work.
Candidates who took the driving test, based on the request for free access to information (FIA) from the Department of Education, Science and Innovation, also requested information on the status of specific members of the current and former members of the commission.
For some of them, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation responded that at the time they were on the committees, the regulations relating to the licenses of authorized examiners, as well as the program on the basis of which authorized examiners are educated, had not been adopted, so that even then, as members of the committee, these persons could not obtain an examiner license. At that time, as they explained at the time, the Ministry could not appoint a person who had a license as an authorized examiner.
The License for an Authorized Examiner was introduced by amendments to the Road Traffic Safety Act of 2019.
"Vijesti" previously reported that the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation received 2022 complaints about the work of the commissions in 11 - eight on the theoretical and three on the practical part of the driving test. At the time, the Ministry said that the complaints could not be linked to a single commission or member of the examination commission.
In a response to the editorial board in March last year, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation said that less than half of the total number of candidates who took the knowledge test obtained a category B driver's license in 2023. At the time, they also said that passing the driving test is more difficult than before and that there are more reasons for this, but they also said that the passing rate of candidates should not be any kind of indicator and goal to strive for.
As they said, "the reason for the lower pass rate of candidates should not be sought in the commissions for taking the driving test, but in the readiness of the candidates themselves to take the driving test".
To list those who are prohibited from taking the test
A public debate is underway on the Law on Amendments to the Law on Road Traffic Safety, which, among other things, regulates the work of driving schools. The call for the public debate was published on April 11, and the debate will last for 30 days.
The amendments, among other things, propose to more precisely prescribe the legal basis for the adoption of a by-law regulating the taking of the driving instructor exam, more precisely define the conditions for taking the driving exam, as well as the legal basis for the adoption of a by-law regulating the taking of the exam for a member of the driving exam committee. Schools, as proposed, should also keep records of candidates who have been banned from taking the driving exam...
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