A renewed campaign launched by Policy Shapers, a tech-based advocacy group, to end compulsory English proficiency tests for Nigerian student applicants and prospective immigrants to some English-speaking countries, is gaining traction. Already, a petition on the website, Change.Org, has garnered some 75,000 signatures, while protest letters have also been written to foreign missions.
According to reports, Nigerians must write an international standardised test in English language proficiency before being allowed to migrate or attend any educational institution in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The most common tests are the International English Language Testing System and the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
On the average, these tests cost about N87,000 per sitting. This is bad enough. Worse still is that each test result is valid for only two years, regardless of how high a candidate scores. This is nonsensical, especially since language proficiency does not deteriorate easily. English is the official language of instruction, commerce, and government activities in Nigeria. But this is how Western English-speaking countries have continued to milk Africans dry under the guise of administering tests.
Ironically, the UK exempts other former British colonies in the Caribbean like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas and others from writing these tests. But its former African colonies like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and The Gambia are forced to sit these exams. Such discrimination undermines the benefit of being a Commonwealth country with English as the lingua franca.
The UK Home Office recently said that for Nigeria to be exempted from such tests, the country must be included on the Majority English Speaking Country list, and there must be evidence that more than half of Nigerians speak English as a first language. Sadly, Nigeria has not conducted any census in the last 16 years and hardly ever has adequate statistics on such demographics. This is left for the Nigerian government to take up.
According to the UK government, it would only rely on evidence that is based on an official census or its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It says based on current information, Nigeria does not meet the requirement for a waiver, but a review is possible soon. It is common knowledge that Nigeria has the third highest number of English speakers in the world after the US and India, according to Wikipedia. Why this is never taken into consideration remains a mystery. Analysts attribute it to institutionalised discrimination against Africans by Western nations. Others say the Nigerian government has also failed to vigorously push back by deploying its entire diplomatic arsenal to promote the interests of its citizens.
In contrast, Eurydice, an international educational database developed by the European Commission, states that Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Haiti, Madagascar, Mauritania (except for students in the Arabic-language curriculum), Rwanda, Seychelles, Switzerland and Vanuatu are exempted from the French language proficiency test if they apply to study in tertiary institutions in France. This is fair.
But there seems to be a glimmer of hope. After ignoring the plight of its citizens for so long, the Nigerian government is beginning to show interest. Last year, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo expressed support for the campaign, saying, “I entirely agree that as an English-speaking country, we should be beneficiaries of some concession, as opposed to being forced every two years to take the same test especially if one has passed it before. This is something that we should really work on. I will ask the Minister of Education as well as the Minister of Youths and Sports exactly what is going on about this.” However, months later, there has been no progress. The government must go beyond mere rhetoric. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must also take concrete steps to engage these countries exploiting Nigerians.
While every country has the right to set conditions for prospective immigrants and students, such requirements ought to be based on equity. It is curious that Malta, which has English as its second language, is on the list of countries given waivers while Nigeria, which has English as its only official language, is not given any concessions.
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For decades, Nigerians and several other African countries have been the victims of Western discrimination. Arbitrary fees are imposed on Nigerians seeking visas by Western countries while the government continues to play the ostrich.
An analysis from London Economics, a consultancy, commissioned by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Universities UK International, shows that a 2018/19 cohort of international students studying in the UK contributed a net economic benefit of £25.9 billion to Britain’s economy. The analysis revealed that the UK is the second most popular destination for Nigerian students after the US. This provides a glimpse into the amount of money the British economy earns from Nigerians.
According to the US Embassy, Nigeria sends students to study in the US more than any other country in Africa. With over 13,000 Nigerians studying there, Nigeria has the 11th highest international student representation in America. The US Department of Commerce said international students contributed an average of $45 billion to the US economy in 2018.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria show that Nigeria’s educational sector has suffered a massive capital flight in the last 10 years, as not less than $28.65 billion was spent on foreign education between 2010 and 2020, an average of $2.86 billion per year. In comparison, Nigeria’s federal budget for tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and specialised institutions in the 2022 budget is less than N600 billion, about $1.44 billion at official exchange rate.
With incessant strikes by public university lecturers, as well as decaying infrastructure caused by poor funding and decades of neglect, the education sector in Nigeria has become a shadow of its glorious past when international students enrolled in its colleges. This has made travelling overseas for study far more desirable. It has also exposed Nigerian students to the extortionist policies of foreign schools.
While Nigeria intensifies the campaign of ensuring that admission processes are equitable and fair, the government must understand that fixing Nigeria’s broken education sector is essential to address its myriad challenges. This should be a major national challenge.
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