Gandhinagar: In just over six weeks since Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) were authorized to issue a learner’s license, nearly 23,000 licenses have been issued by the ITIs.

The state government had authorized 221 ITIs and 29 government polytechnics to conduct the online tests for learner’s license and to issue the licenses in a bid to make the process of obtaining the license convenient for people and to ease the rush at Road Transport Offices (RTOs).

Statistics released by the Directorate of Employment and Training, which functions under the Labour and Employment department, show that the new system is working very well.

“The system of issuing learner’s license at ITIs is getting very good response as it is more convenient for applicants to go to ITIs rather than RTOs which generally have a greater rush. More than 47,400 people have applied for the learner’s license at the 221 ITIs as of December 2, of whom 22,791 candidates passed the test and were issued learner’s license,” Vipul Mittra, additional chief secretary, Labour, and Employment department, said.

Of the remaining applicants, 10,403 failed in the test, while the remaining 14,277 applications were rejected due to missing documents, pending fees, errors during the exam, and other reasons.

At present, the ITIs undertake the learner’s license-related works for limited hours. For 24 ITIs in city areas, the hours are from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm, while for the 197 taluka-level ITIs, the time slot is from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

“We have sought a longer time slot from RTOs to undertake the activity in ITIs and to cater to a larger number of applicants. We are also training ITI officials and employees to further streamlining the processes,” Mittra said. Meanwhile, the department also facilitated it is with arrangements like computers, furniture, manpower, etc in a short time.

The system for obtaining the learner’s license is the same as earlier. The applicants need to register online for the test, pay the fee, and then appear for the online test. The facility was available only at RTOs earlier, but can also be availed at ITIs and government polytechnics now. In Ahmedabad city, for instance, there are six ITIs where learner’s licenses are issued, while in Gandhinagar district, there are four such centres.