UAE to introduce four Indian languages in driving tests

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Come September, people living in UAE will be able to choose from four Indian languages, including Hindi to give their driving tests.

Besides the three existing languages, aspiring drivers can opt Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, Chinese, Russian or Persian languages for giving both theory tests as well as eight mandatory lectures.

The tests which are currently conducted in English, Urdu and Arabic will be offered in seven more languages by The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) from September.

Arif Al Malek, director of Drivers Training and Qualifications at RTA, was quoted as saying by Gulf News, "We will be having text on screen as well as voice over in 11 languages, which the candidate can listen to through headphones. In case a person cannot read, a voice will read out the questions and then the candidate can choose the correct answer from multiple options available."

The tests, which include mandatory lectures and knowledge tests, are required to obtain a driving licence. The computer-based knowledge test needs to be passed by every candidate before moving on to the practical driving classes

The 30-minute test includes the text on screen and the voice over.

Al Malek said that lectures in some of these languages were already available, but they will be upgrading their system soon to conduct the lectures in a more organized manner so that every candidate has thorough knowledge of what it takes to drive on roads.

"For this we will ensure candidates are taught in the language of their choice," Al Malek further added.

The move to introduce new languages has brought much cheer to the driving schools in UAE.