NAIROBI (HAN) June 1.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. By GERALD ANDAE. The six East African States are set to replicate a new driving curriculum recently launched in Kenya as the region moves to harmonise its roads’ instruction manual.
East African Community (EAC) secretary-general Liberat Mfumukeko said Kenya’s curriculum meets the standards of the proposed regional one that would be launched soon and adopted by all member states.
The bloc’s members include South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
Mr Mfumukeko said EAC would use the syllabus to test the implementation of the regional training manual.
“The curriculum that you have launched meets the requirements of the regional standards. We at the community will use the implementation modalities for the Kenyan curriculum to test the implementation of our manual guide,” said Mr Mfumukeko.
Last week, Kenya launched a new curriculum to replace the one that is currently on use as the country seeks to curb increasing cases of road accidents that have largely been attributed to human error.
TradeMark East Africa has developed the regional curriculum and training material for drivers of large commercial vehicles in EAC.
The syllabus comprises the EAC standardised curriculum for drivers of large commercial vehicles for both passengers and freight.
The curriculum was developed with input from Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
The country’s Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia said it is important for the region to harmonise the driving curriculum for the benefit of member states.
“It is good to note that we are heading towards harmonisation of the regional curriculum for drivers, this is a positive move that should be fast-tracked,” said Mr Macharia.
The curriculum introduces new driver classes such as professional drivers’ category and persons with disabilities.
According to NTSA, they will keep a database of professional drivers who can be send to foreign countries in the event their services are needed as a means of enabling them earn a living from their profession.
The curriculum will take effect from September when students enrolling for driving courses will start using it.
Under the new curriculum, all instructors and examiners will be required to go back to class for retraining in order to understand how the new system works.
The authority is using the new curriculum as the latest weapon in curbing the number of road accidents that have increased in the recent years.
The 2015 road safety performance status shows that the number of fatal crashes on Kenyan roads increased by 5.2 per cent to stand at 3,057, compared to 2,907 in 2014.
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