My Al Kebra Sojourn - Prologue

I have been in country in Qatar for 14 months now...and in my continuing experience of the country...again ...I have to go through the endeavor of taking a driver's license to add mobility to my job as an HR Manager...I really didn't welcome this development as I always had a driver with me if I needed to go somewhere in Cebu or Manila when I was working in country...but its different here...although there are times when I'd be given a driver to take me to places in Qatar like Our Camp office or Accommodation...or go shopping to Lulu or Velaggio...or at the nearby fish market.. but my boss wanted me to get my own license as the company will provide me with a Car so I could experience Qatar in a different light given this mobility...and maybe to enjoy my stay in country because I will have my own freedom to go places where I couldn't go before due to the lack of mobility...then again...a lot of decisions needed to be made...What driving school? Where? How much?

For the choice of the school I chose Al Kebra Driving School for reason#1 its location because I am staying in Bu Hamoor and its just a five (No Traffic) - ten minute (with traffic) drive from Our Office/accommodation...reason #2 Al Kebra has a number of Filipino D.I.'s (Driving Instructors, hindi po diving instructors or Dance Instructors for that matter)...more than 30 teachers are there both male and female...and our Kabayan instructors have a good reputation in that school such that word comes around thru the net or word of mouth that the Filipino Instructors if not the best there is here in Qatar or one of the best driving instructors that they have around.... reason#3 the schedule...here in Qatar if you want to enroll in driving school you have to wait the most is a couple of months or so to get a schedule because of the demand...there is really quite a demand for students and very few driving schools...a case in point...I enrolled on April 15, 2010...and I got my desired schedule of 7:30 - 8:30 am and I was informed that I would start on May 8, 2010 in less than a month I got my class schedule...I am in no way endorsing the school as there are many good schools also in Qatar...It's a personal choice for the student...

Anyway...I initially called their Office to inquire about the course and I got their contact details in the net...Al Kebra Driving School, Tel. No. 451-6353 or 451-6782 and their office hours is broken time of 7:30 am-12:00 and 3 - 7 pm which is the norm here in the Gulf...The person who would most probably answer you is Grace (Customer Service) or sometimes Me-an both are Pinays...I took the full course of 40 days @ 1 hour per day -- fees are QR2,210...for the full course you get 4 chances to take the test plus one (5th) direct test...again the number of chances depends on the no of days (course that you enrolled)...now before anything else...first you need to prepare the following documents before you go to their office to pay the enrollment fees:

1) NOC - No objection Letter - addressed to the Traffic department stating that you can take driving lessons for light vehicle (this was the vehicle I applied for). Your Qatar ID# must be mentioned in the letter and should be printed on the Company Letter Head

2) Submit with the CR copy of your company together with passport visa copy and phootocopy of your bataqua (Qatar national ID card - RP card)

3) Duly accomplised Application for for Driving License from Traffic Department with Vision test or Eye test (any license optician)

4) 4 pcs passport size photo...any background (white or blue)

Once you have all these documents ready...you can go to their office...approach Grace (Customer Service) and she will smilingly direct you to the counter where you need to present your documents and to the cashier to pay for your fees...

Note: Sometimes you can request for for D.I. if you know who they are but sometimes if they are not available they will give you an instructor that is of the same ethnicity (Filipino, Indian, Arabic, etc.) You can choose the driving lesson schedule in accordance to your liking or availability since you most probably are working...some schedules are quite difficult because many students are enrolling at such schedules...but they have schedule as early as 7:30 am and as late as 9:00 - 10:00 p.m. that's why before you enroll you must have a schedule in mind...but after paying the fees they will ask for your mobile number as they will inform you 2 days before the start of your driving lesson...and that's it you have just enrolled yourself to driving school....