By John Ikani
A youth-led policy advocacy group, Policy Shapers has shared additional data points in response to a recent message it received from the UK Home Office requesting extra evidence to prove that the majority of Nigerians speak English as a prerequisite for IELTS exemption.
The Campaign
The group leading the #ReformIELTS campaign which seeks the inclusion of Nigeria and other English-speaking African countries in the UK government’s Majority English Speaking Country (MESC) list had earlier in October 2021, written to the UK Home Office to demand why Nigerians and other citizens of anglophone countries in Africa needed to prove their English speaking proficiency before they are granted a visa to work or study in the UK.
They asked what it would take for these countries to be included in the MESC list.
The group also championed a petition on Change.org where more than 75,000 people signed to seek a policy reform by the UK on its request for English Language Proficiency from Nigerians who are migrating to the UK to study or work.
The cost of the test, which currently stands between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, is three times the country’s minimum wage of N30,000.
Apart from its high cost, the test is only valid for two years and can only be taken in 12 cities across the country.
In contrast, the French Proficiency tests cost half the minimum wage and last a lifetime.
The group had earlier secured the endorsement of Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria, and caught the attention of the BBC which has since put an international spotlight on the campaign.
Recent correspondences with UK Home Office
Policy Shapers wrote a robust 15-page policy brief submitted to the Home Office on February 14, 2022.
The policy brief was in response to UK’s stance that it could not include Nigeria in its MESC list because there is no public evidence that the majority of Nigerians speak English.
On March 15, it received an automatic message from the Home Office saying it “cannot respond to external policy questions.”
Policy Shapers went on to release a strongly-worded rejection of the UK’s “automatic message” which in turn, made the Home Office’s Simplification of Rules Taskforce (SORT) formally respond on March 31, 2022.
In its response, the UK government acknowledged the work done by Policy Shapers in producing the brief. “Dear Policy Shapers Team, thank you very much for taking the time to put together this evidence pack for us, we will retain it for any future review of the MESC list.”
The Home Office went on to say, “While we appreciate that the evidence you provided shows a generally significant level of English proficiency and literacy in Nigeria, it does not show that more than 51% of the population speak English as a first language…We continue to welcome any further evidence you can provide.”
More evidence and contradictions in UK Home Office replies
Upon receipt of the Home Office’s latest response, Policy Shapers team and its Advocacy Taskforce led by Ebeneazar Wikina went to work again to produce a 5-page response letter to the UK Home Office providing additional public evidence and highlighting gaps in the MESC list policy.
The group pointed out contradictions in messages received from the Home Office; it said the Home Office had earlier communicated on January 26 that the MESC list is “periodically reviewed and new countries are added…” but in its last message, the Home Office said, “for any future review of the MESC list” leaving this exercise to chance.
Policy Shapers also noted that the Home Office had told the BBC in July 2021 that the criteria for listing a country on the MESC is for “at least 51% of its population to speak English…” However, in its latest reply to the policy brief, the Home Office said “more than 51% of the population…” is the criteria.
The group pointed out that “…more than 51% could mean 52%, 65%, 79%, or even 100%. We do not think it is logically acceptable to have a fleeting requirement for such an important foreign policy issue which costs Nigerians up to 5 billion Naira annually.”
It also asked other important questions like, “When was the MESC list last reviewed? Which countries were recently added? And what form of public evidence was used to validate their inclusion?
Datasets from international organizations validate group’s campaign
In addition to highlighting these gaps, the group also shared three additional datasets from the World Bank, World Population Review, and the Global Economy Data portal which showed that between 1991 and 2018, the average literacy rate in Nigeria was 58.7% with a minimum of 51.08% in 2008 and a maximum of 70.2% in 2006.
This average is still way above the Home Office’s 51% criteria. Policy Shapers also showed that as Nigeria’s population increases, the overall English proficiency and literacy rate would continue to improve.
According to the Census Bureau of the United States, the population of Nigeria will surpass that of the United States in 2047, when the population of Nigeria would have reached an estimated 379.25 million.
This, in addition to high rural-urban migration, proves that the already high levels of English literacy in the country are set to go even higher. World Bank data shows that between 1960 and 2020, Nigeria’s urban population has risen steadily by almost 55%.
Call to action
Through its latest letter, which has Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, the Speaker of the House of Commons in copy, Policy Shapers believes it has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Nigeria deserves a spot on the MESC list.
The group also recommended two steps to aid the Home Office in setting this policy reform in motion including, a cancellation of the IELTS test expiry clause and a drastic reduction in the cost of the test that resonates with the economic realities of the African continent.
