The UK High Commissioner to Nigeria has reacted to the Nigerians’ call for a review of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) which requires Nigerians seeking to study or work in the UK to sit and pass the test.
On Saturday, in response to an earlier PREMIUM TIMES query shared by the British High Commission’s communications chief in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Dean Hurlock, the UK Home Office said it is important that anyone who is willing to work or study in the UK shows evidence of language competence to integrate into the country.
The statement noted that the UK uses the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), an international standard for describing language ability, to set the level of proficiency required to integrate into the UK.
“We use the levels of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) to provide a common set of standards and establish them route by route, taking into account the types of activities and the nature of the route. The CEFR standards are an important common baseline to ensure applicants meet the required language standard,” the response noted.
About the fees charged
Speaking about the accusation of charging exorbitant fees, the response explained that fees are set by individual test providers, but they must be comparable to what is charged globally.
The statement says in part; “Individual testing providers set the fees for SELT. UK Visas & Immigration stipulates that the fees providers charge our clients must be comparable to the fees they charge others for the same or similar English tests.”
Exception
However, the Home Office explained that holders of a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent will not need to take a Secure English Language Test (SELT) if it is verified by UK Ecctis if it “meets or exceeds the recognized standard of a UK Bachelor’s degree, Master’s or Ph.D.”
He said that on behalf of UK national agencies, Ecctis provides evidence of the level of qualifications or English language proficiency for the UK Home Office.
It provides services on behalf of the UK Government in qualifications, skills and migration.
The UK also added in its response that “an accurate and reliable SELT process is very important to ensure that people who come to work and study have the skills they need to complete the activity they are going to do in the UK”.
background
In recent days, many young Nigerians have taken to social media to protest what they describe as the imposition of IELTS on Nigerians who want to move to the UK.
More than 60,000 Nigerians have signed an online petition started by Policy Shapers, a public policy organization, seeking the complete elimination of Secure English Language Test (SELT) applications such as IELTS from Nigerians or the reduction of the cost of perform the tests.
#ReformIELTSPolicy, #IELTS and #TOEFL trended for hours in Nigeria on Twitter on Thursday, with some Nigerians accusing the UK of commercializing the tests.
They lamented that Nigerians and other English-speaking countries in Africa, whose official language and language of instruction in schools is English, had to prove to the British government that they can speak the language for three times Nigeria’s minimum wage.
They compared the cost of taking the N90,000 average cost of the English proficiency test, the result of which may be valid for only two years, with the French proficiency test, which costs half the minimum wage and is valid for life.