The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an international English language proficiency test for all those desirous of working, studying or migrating to some other English-speaking countries. It tests the ability of students to read, listen, write and speak the language effectively. Even countries with English as a first or second language are often required to take the exams once there is a requirement for it, except in cases where the individual is below the age of 16.
The IELTS exam is managed by three institutions globally, the British Council, IDP IELTS Australia and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL). The tests are usually done in special centres across the world and are a requirement for some universities, professional bodies, government agencies and immigration authorities of countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States and the United Kingdom.
Sometimes, the required marks for a candidate differ from country to country or even institution to institution. Curiously however, there is no educational qualification to take the IELTS exams. People with some learning or hearing disabilities are also eligible but they must notify the exam body about three months ahead so that their special needs can be met.
The examination fees differ from country to country and it is not cheap by any standards. In Nigeria, for instance, it costs about N85,000. This is, in some cases, higher than the annual tuition in some tertiary institutions in the country. Another curious thing is that even though it is a proficiency in speaking, hearing, reading and writing in English test, each of the certificates lasts a mere two years after which a candidate, if needed, would take another exam under same conditions as in the past.
Some 40,000 individuals in Nigeria have signed a petition at Change.Org requesting that countries stop demanding IELTS exams from Nigerians seeking to study, work or emigrate to other countries that request the certificate. Having to re-sit the exam if a candidate was successful at being admitted the first time seems to them an unfair treatment, given that Nigeria as a former British colony and member of the Commonwealth has English as the official language and in some cases children even speak it as a first language.
While we acknowledge that proficiency in any language is necessary for communication at both social and official levels, the case of Nigeria is different in this regard. Many literate Nigerians seeking admission, work or immigration services have had English as the language of instruction in school and as such must not be treated as though they can only communicate in their mother tongue. Even if the exams must stay, there must be some modifications. The fees must be reduced and the certificate must in the most part be treated as a certificate that can be acquired just once. Measures should, however, be put in place to help coach those who need English proficiency skills.
It is both ridiculous and seemingly insensitive to charge exorbitant fees from citizens of poor countries whose lives are already hard enough. The fees for IELTS, as they stand, are almost double the annual tuition fees in some Nigerian universities. Sometimes the students are on scholarships based on their indigence; it is then very economically contradictory to expect a brilliant but indigent student to lose an admission space because he or she cannot afford the IELTS fees that they had managed to pay in the past but have to pay again even though they passed the exam the last time. And their proficiency did not diminish, which means they are already qualified if technically the rules presume otherwise. It will be a disservice to our global development.
The citizens signing the Stop IELTS examinations in Nigeria see the fees as a rip-off, they consider the validity of the certificate too short at two years. We expect that in a more globalised and tech-savvy world as we have now, the organisers of the exams can key into the online language lesson style to effortlessly coach students or anyone in need of proficiency in English. Many languages are now being taught and learnt online at minimal cost and English is no different. We expect the education and foreign affairs ministries in the country to step in and do the needful before issues go from bad to worse. There must be no room for exploitative behaviour in a 21st century world with all the socio-economic issues in the poor countries.
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