The other day I asked my daughter, who was in the process of getting a student driver’s permit as one of her requirements for Filipino-style adulting, how it was going. She had just taken the exam for the theoretical portion of the application process, after having gone through a 15-hour online series of lessons, which was through what should be a LTO-approved establishment.
When she started her online classes, I initially mocked her for taking it seriously, to the point of jotting down notes, jokingly telling her that nobody with a decent IQ fails that particular test in this country, especially if you look at the way most people drive. Anyway she soldiered on and was able to complete the course before the deadline to take the exam passed, and that was what she had finished the other day.
Of course she passed the written exam, with flying colors no less, paving the way for her student’s permit, which means she now goes beyond the theoretical part of learning to drive, as a student permit is necessary for a learner to operate a motor vehicle.
What was interesting was when she told me about the exam, which was conducted in the same room where a lecture on the same course was being held. That means that if she were paying attention to the lecture, she would be able to score a few free points in the exam. An extra bonus was that the room was filled with traffic signs and other learning tools that gave away some answers for free as well. To be fair, those clues in the exam room are not enough to automatically pass the taker, but there were free points for the taking for those who are observant.
Moreover, as a new SHS graduate who had just gone through their final exams, she was surprised by the leniency of the proctor, who didn’t really check on her, and even didn’t reprimand her for using her smartphone when she was done and waiting for her paper to be collected. Had that happened in school, it would have been a big violation, due to the potential for cheating, as she still had her exam paper and was already on her phone.
I told her that the free answers and lenient proctors in her exam room are already an improvement. Because back in the day, there were persistent rumors that the answer sheets were already pre-answered.
If you come to think of it, the driving schools that conduct the lectures and hold the written exams are under great pressure to have a decent passing rate because word probably gets around and potential customers will obviously choose the schools where success is more likely. The problem with “passing” is that there are many ways to do that. In an ideal world, only those who learned from the lecture, as verified by the written exam, should earn their student’s permit, which is a critical step in the path towards a driver’s license.
However, if passing rate is the only metric, then there are many ways for driving schools to help their applicants, and maybe that is why they are liberal with the exam “freebies” and not so strict against potential cheating. After all, the schools that are strict will have a lower passing rate, and once word gets around, the “ma-diskareteng pinoy” will avoid them, which is ultimately bad for any business. It is just like the Department of Education, where teachers allow students that are not qualified to move up to the next level.
That “pwede na” mentality among government institutions is probably one of the biggest reasons why our country is stuck in this hellhole of chaos and incompetence. When the DepEd and the LTO judge the performance an establishment supposedly under their purview by how many have passed, instead of making sure that those that pass are qualified, competent, and truly ready to move up to the next stage, we end up with this intergenerational mess that doesn’t seem like it can be fixed anytime soon.
Driving tests in other countries are famously tough, failing those that are not prepared and qualified, which weeds out the worst of the worst from setting their foot on the gas pedal. The theoretical and practical tests are the stuff of nightmares for student drivers who have to learn the rules because they know it will be enforced without fear or favor. Those who get a driver’s license by sheer luck are sure to have their luck tested by strict law enforcement that punishes violators and ensures that everyone learns their lesson.
However until our system somehow ends up working as it should, which is to keep the unqualified and ignorant away from driving a motor vehicle until a series of credible tests prove them truly ready, we may have to live with the fact in this country, we have to deal with a messy society because both the public and private sector somehow find ways to make sure that failure is not an option.*
