[kuschku]

Quality depends heavily on how corrupt your government is — in Germany, these strict tests are actually that strict and work well. But obviously not everyone can get a license due to this. (e.g., I opted not to spend the 2000€ that a license would cost).

[pandaman]

Is it the license fee or a "driving school" tuition?

[namibj]

More the latter. There are mandatory hours of training in specific conditions before being allowed to take the actual exam. Driving hours with the instructor aren't cheap.