By John Ikani
Almost 50,000 Nigerians have signed a petition calling on the United Kingdom (UK) home office to either remove Nigeria from the list of countries whose citizens are required to take English Proficiency tests or reduce the fees charged for the examination.
The UK requires citizens of any country willing to relocate to the country for work or study opportunities to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test.
Many foreign universities abroad demand the IELTS as a requirement for admitting international students.
But Nigerians are kicking against the policy, describing it as a rip-off.
The petitioners argue that since English is Nigeria’s official language and the first language for many people here – a legacy of British colonial rule – the country should be exempt from the test.
The test of English-language proficiency for non-native English-language speakers is mostly managed by the British Council at a cost of $200 (between N80,000 and N90,000) which is almost three times the West African nation’s minimum wage and valid for just two years.
In comparison, the French DELF & DALF proficiency tests for non-native speakers cost N16,000 ($38.55) and N19,000 ($45.7), but the certificate is valid for life.
Many have wondered why the results of IELTS should last for two years, claiming that is a way of extortion money from people and also preventing many Nigerians from travelling to the UK.
https://twitter.com/AkwariCharles/status/1486299810554593283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1486299810554593283%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Flive
Others like this Twitter user want the validity period of the test extended.
https://twitter.com/nancygreeny/status/1486036909944188928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1486036909944188928%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Flive
Of the 27 Anglophone countries in Africa who list English as one of their official languages, the UK Home Office did not exempt any from taking the test.
However, the UK Home Office exempted citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and 10 other countries from taking the test.
What you should know:
The campaign powered with hashtags
#ReformIELTSPolicy and #NOIELTSNigeria is spearheaded by Ebenezar Wikina, founder of Policy Shapers, the world’s first open-source platform for policy ideas led by young people.
Wikina on Wednesday tweeted that he has received a response from the UK home office, three months after writing to them:
Thanks to the pressure from all you #ReformIELTSPolicy campaigners, yesterday the @ukhomeoffice responded to our petition but we have found so many loopholes in their response which we shall escalate with them
Read more: https://t.co/rfX7ldaQ8O#IELTS #TOEFL #ReformIELTS
— Eben (@EbenezarWikina) January 27, 2022
It received the endorsement of the Vice President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo, who also believes that Nigerians deserve an exemption from the test as former British colonies.
