Establishing a Driving School in Nigeria

Driving school gives tutor lessons to individuals who wish to learn to drive and understand the traffic laws and rules guiding the activity of driving.

It is a little bit strenuous to open a driving school in Nigeria but it is not entirely possible. There are certain processes that you need to meet to ensure that you become recognized and certified as a driving school in Nigeria.

You will learn the involved steps and how you need to go about them when you read through the post. 

Also, check out All You Need to Know about the Nigerian Driver’s License.

Establishing A Driving School

If you want to open a driving school in Nigeria, you will need to invest a reasonable sum of money to get the business off the ground. The funds can be used to buy a car, so you’ll presumably start with one. You can get more if you have a large enough investment. 

A place for you to use as an office is something else crucial to obtain with the money. Fortunately, driving schools do not require a sizable workforce, so you will also need people to work for you. You can launch the firm with just two people at first.

However, if you want to run a business on a large scale, you need to recruit staff, notably drivers who will be in charge of educating the consumers.

Requirements for setting up a driving school

Another thing you must know is that you need some equipment to set up a driving school in Nigeria. The equipment will help give your customers the best service and ultimately come in handy when you are getting certification for driving school.

FRSC (Federal Road Safety Corps) is the body responsible for the inspection and certification of driving schools in Nigeria. Therefore, you need to ensure that you get the license from them and do not fall prey to scams. 

The equipment you need includes the following

Stimulator or Mock Vehicle

This is what the students use in practicing how to drive. You can either get a stimulator to create different driving scenarios for practice or a car not necessarily an exquisite one but just good enough to learn to drive with. 

Road Signs Models

Road signs models are very important to have in a driving school. They are learning aids to provide education to drivers on-road usage, traffic laws, and driving. 

Instructional Materials

A driving school handles the practical and theoretical aspects attached to driving. Therefore, you need instructional materials to deliver the lessons to the students. Board, markers, projectors, safety handbooks, manuals, and many more are examples of instructional materials.

Vision Acuity Test Facilities

You need to ensure that your students are fit for driving when it comes to their vision. Hence, the reason for having to set up a vision acuity test facility. With this, you can test their vision capabilities.

Safety and Technical Equipment

You need to have driving safety equipment such as fire extinguishers. It is important to let your students know when and how to use such safety and technical equipment when it comes to driving.

Also, check out How to Get Grants for Small Businesses in Nigeria.

How to get certified as a driving school in Nigeria

The step-by-step procedure for obtaining the certification for your driving school is what we want to explore in this section. As stated earlier, it is compulsory to get your driving school certified and you can only get that from the FRSC.

Therefore, the first step towards getting a certification is to visit the FRSC office near you to get a form. The form is known as the TSC 0001a. When you are given the form, it means that you passed the first stage which assesses the technical requirements for setting up a driving school.

You have to fill out this form to answer the required questions with the correct details. Afterward, return the form to the FRSC office for evaluation. The approval of the form means you move to the next stage which is the inspection stage. 

The first stage of inspection takes place on a scheduled date when officials from the FRSC (DSSP unit) come to your driving school for inspection. They ensure that the minimum requirements are needed to function as a standard driving school. They look out for things such as: 

CAC Certificate of Incorporation

To determine whether the business is registered by the law. It shows that the business is reliable and not a scam.

Classroom/Administrative office

To determine how the operations of the school it is worthy of certifications

Roadworthy vehicle(s) for driving instructions

It is one of the most important things that they are going to check. More scrutiny is dedicated to this area.

Licensed Driving Instructor(s)

Your driving instructors need to have a Nigerian driving license to ensure that they are fit to teach students about driving.

Course Manual

Driving school is an educational institution and as such you need to have a course manual for your students. The inspection of the course manual is to determine if what you are teaching the students is by the curriculum from the FRSC.

Highway Code

Highway code contains the code of conduct about the use of the road. With this, a driver understands the signs and fundamental rules related to driving. 

Traffic Laws/Regulations handbook

This is all part of instructional materials and the commission will inspect them to make sure you are making learning easy for the students.

First-aid Facilities/Fire Extinguisher

Safety is key when tutoring students on driving. The inspection guarantees that you can handle the safety of the students.

Open-space Driving Range

You need to provide a facility that is wide enough for students to practice. You do not need to build a special space for this as you can make use of open fields and spaces.

When the inspection is complete, the committee creates a report detailing their findings from the inspection. The report is subject to review and evaluation by the training unit at the FRSC head office, in Abuja.

Afterward, another round of inspection is conducted if your driving school makes the minimum requirements and is shortlisted from the screening.

Once the driving school passes the final inspection and evaluations, the school awaits approval from the corp marshal. The approval means the endorsement and certification of the driving school and as such, they are free to commence operation when they like.

However, you must know that the whole procedure is not free as there are prescribed fees attached.

In the event of misconduct or violation of the code of conduct, the commission (FRSC) has the right to revoke or suspend your license.

Final Notes on Establishing a Driving School in Nigeria

Driving school helps educate beginners on driving thereby ensuring that they understand driving and are fit to do it. The article helps to explain the application provide involved in establishing a driving school in Nigeria.

Before you go, check out Engine Oil Business in Nigeria.