IGP orders inquiry: KP police illegal driving schools closed down

PESHAWAR: On the orders of Inspector General of Police Sanaullah Abbasi, illegal driving schools in Khyber Pakthukhwa were closed down and he ordered inquiry in this connection.

Schools charging hefty fee for teaching driving was not credited to any government account but was spent at the discretion of district police officer concerned. The police department has not opened any bank account to collect the driving course fee, due to which the police personnel collected the fee themselves; therefore no audit of any school has been done.

According to police sources, driving schools were set up in government buildings and premises since long in different cities where policemen teach driving without any legal backing, fee structure and financial record.

The IGP told The News that a decision would be taken after reviewing all the issues of the schools. He said schools were closed due to corona and all their financial matters would be investigated.

“We have called a special meeting today (Tuesday) to discuss the driving schools legal and financial issues,” he said. According to sources, neither any legislation has been enacted for the establishment of driving schools nor made a part of any police act. Schools were established in different cities of the province like Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Nowshera, Buner, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Mardan, Haripur and Abbottabad.

Interestingly, the police department has not fixed any uniform fee for driving training due to which each school is charging fees at its own discretion. The fee is neither deposited in the bank and nor there is any bank account in this regard. According to sources, police driving schools charge between Rs3,500 and Rs10,000, while a month-long class consists of about 25 to 60 students.

When this correspondent contacted Abbottabad based school for information, the person concerned said over the phone that Rs9000 is charged for a one month training course but the school is currently closed due to COVID-19. A representative of Swat Driving School told this correspondent that there are 60 people in a class who are taught to drive in 21 days for which a fee of Rs4000 is charged. However, local people complained that higher fee was charged for training sessions. A representative of Peshawar Driving School said the school is closed due to corona. The school has a class of 40 people and a fee of Rs 3,500 is charged.

A representative of Mardan Driving School said 150 people are trained in two shifts of morning and evening for which there is a trained police staff available.