On August 7, the Delhi government released a notification, authorising directors and principals of varsities, colleges and educational centres to organise learners’ licence test and issue certificates on campus which will be valid for up to six months. The policy was formally set in motion on August 18. According to Kailash Gahlot, Delhi transport minister, the scheme is anticipated to prove beneficial for around two lakh students enrolled in higher education institutions.
The meeting (earlier scheduled to be held on August 28) between the Delhi government’s transport department and various colleges to discuss about the same has been imprecisely deferred by the former.
As yet, only four institutions have been empowered to issue licence; namely, Delhi University’s Acharya Narendra Dev College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, GB Pant Institute of Technology and Delhi government-affiliated Industrial Training Institute, Pusa. So far, as less as two students each from Acharya Narendra Dev College and ITI, Pusa have been issued a licence.
Gahlot also claimed to introduce the scheme to all colleges after the committee evaluates its performance in the four colleges where it has already been initiated to make out if there is any dearth and if it’s successful before launching it widely.
Registrars of 18 institutions, for instance, Delhi University, GGS Indraprastha University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi had been written to by the Delhi transport corporation to talk over the scheme. A Delhi government office-bearer added, “The meeting has been postponed till further deliberation on the framework of the scheme.”
As reported by many institutions, they were eagerly waiting for the meeting but have not yet been sent any further schedule from the authorities. “We had received a communication regarding discussion on the policy, but were told it has been postponed,” said an executive from Jamia Millia Islamia.
As a matter of concern, V Ramgopal Rao, director of IIT-Delhi highlighted that it’s a fairly good plan but the execution requires discussion, since they do not permit students to use motorised vehicles on campus.