Thiruvananthapuram: The Transport Commissioner has issued an order making the presence of authorised instructors mandatory for driving tests starting from Saturday (June 1). Students must be accompanied to the test grounds by an authorised instructor from their respective schools, who will be required to sign a register in the presence of officials.

To prevent any single authorised instructor from conducting driving tests for multiple schools, school registers will be cross-checked. Additionally, it's mandatory for driving schools to maintain admission registers (Form 14) and attendance records for theory classes (Form 15), which must be signed daily by both the learner and the instructor.

Any attempt by a student to appear for the test under the name of an instructor from another school will be detected by verifying the registers. The government has warned of strict action against schools involved in such malpractices.

The Transport Commissioner has also deployed a squad to catch officials cooperating with driving schools in malpractice. However, individuals who have received training from a driving school can take the driving test using their own vehicles without the need for a certified instructor.