Athabasca University in Canada has removed Nigerian students from its list of foreign applicants who must write and pass an English proficiency exam before being admitted.
The waiver for Nigeria comes following a protest letter from a Nigerian professor in Canada, Dr. Olumuyiwa Igblalajobi.
In response to his request, Athabasca University in Canada has removed Nigeria from its list of countries required to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and other English tests prior to enrolment.
Recall that Igblalajobi, a postdoctoral research fellow in the North African country, last month, achieved the same feat for Nigerian from University of Alberta, Canada.
The waiver will be a victory for Nigerians who see the tests as mountains to surmount before gaining admission to Canadian universities of their choice.
Igbalajobi argued, in his letter to the institution that Nigeria is an English-speaking country whose people should not be bothered to write IELTS, TOFEL and others.
According to him, since Nigeria teaches its children in 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 Nigeria, hence no need for further tests.
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In response to the letter, the school has now updated the list as it has recognised Nigeria as an English-speaking country.
Report claimed that Igbalajob said it is not good that countries colonised by Britain are still being asked to prove they can speak English.
Igbalajobi said: “It’s bad to request IELTS from African countries colonized by the British.
“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.”
His brave, heroic gesture has been praised by social media users and other Nigerians after the story went viral.
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