The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an International Standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English Language speakers. Its is used to test the English writing and speaking capability of individuals from non-English speaking countries, before they would be given admission into western universities.
However, Nigeria which is a former British colony with English as it’s official Lingua Franca is been subjected to the IELTS or TOEFL examination as a prerequisite for getting admission into universities in Europe, Canada and the United States.
The IELTS has proved a stumbling block to the Nigerians with dreams to further their education in western countries. A lot of Nigerians have decried the exams as racism and injustice to Nigeria as it is already an English-Speaking nation.
In January, about 40,000 Nigerians 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 cost of the test, which currently stands between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, is almost three times the country’s minimum wage of N30,000.
Many individuals and organizations have tried to petition the countries involved to scrap IELTS for Nigeria without much success, until now when a Nigerian-Canadian took a different approach and decided to write the schools directly. His name is OLUMUYIWA IGBALOJOBI.
Born in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria, Olumuyiwa is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Professor Kronstad laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada.
He has taken it upon himself to write petitions to various institutions in Canada to waive Nigerians from the list of countries that requires IELTS before securing admission.
Olumuyiwa argued in his petition that since Nigeria teaches its children English from elementary to tertiary level, this means the country is an English-speaking country.
He also argued that English is the official language of business in the country, thus there is no need for Nigerians to be subjected to further tests.
In his words: “It is bad to request IELTS from African countries colonized the government of Britian.
These Petitions from Olumuyiwa has prompted two universities in Canada to waiver Nigerians from writing the IELTS examination before getting admission into their institutions.
Last Month, he got the University of Alberta, Canada, to exclude Nigerian students from its English language requirement. It added Nigeria has now been added to the university’s list of countries where English is an official language of instruction.
Also, another breakthrough came when last week, another Canadian instituition, the Athabasca University, Canada, excluded Nigerian students from its list of foreign applicants to write and pass English proficiency before admission.
Succumbing to Olumuyiwa his demand, Athabasca University, Canada has deleted Nigeria from its list of countries to write International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and other English tests before enrolment.
These waivers will be a victory for Nigerians who see the tests as mountains to surmount before gaining admission to Canadian universities of their choice.
Dr Olumuyiwa has been receiving his deserved appreciation from lot of Nigerians, especially twitter users where he his active. People have referred to him as a hero who is fighting education injustice against Nigeria.
The board and management of the Ugwumba centre for leadership development in Africa, made Dr. Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi as one of its Ambassadors for making Nigerians proud in Canada.
Olumuyiwa is not relenting in his efforts to stop the demand of IELTS for Nigerians. According to him, “I have written about 12 universities till date. I will continue to identify universities with stale lists and those who wouldn’t recognize Nigeria as an English-speaking country.