According to the data, which stated that the results were arrived at after tests conducted on 2.2 million adults across 123 countries and regions, Nigeria recorded a high proficiency score.
Data released by the English Proficiency Index (EF Index) has ranked Nigeria highly on the global scale in terms of the ability to speak and communicate in the English language.
highly on the global scale in terms of the ability to speak and communicate in the English language.
According to the data, which stated that the results were arrived at after tests conducted on 2.2 million adults across 123 countries and regions, Nigeria recorded a high proficiency score.
Globally, Nigeria ranks 29th with a score of 568 points. This ranking places the country behind nations such as the Philippines, Zambia, Argentina, Serbia, Malaysia, Czechia, Hungary, Greece, Kenya, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Latvia, Poland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Finland, Romania, Slovakia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Austria, Croatia and the NetherlandsOn the African continent, Nigeria ranks fifth in English proficiency. According to data, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Zambia rank ahead of Nigeria, occupying the first through fourth positions respectively.
In January 2022, SaharaReporters reported that a petition initiated on the online petition-aggregator, Change.org, aimed at stopping demands for English proficiency tests from Nigerians, garnered at least 26,000 signatures.
The petition, which was initiated by Policy Shapers, was titled “Stop asking Nigerians to write IELTS”.
It specifically called for an end to foreign institutions’ demands for the International English Language Testing System from Nigerians whose language of instruction at various levels of education was primarily English.
Nigerians seeking to pursue their studies in foreign universities are often required to take an English proficiency test as a means of measuring their understanding of the language.
However, in the petition addressed to then-Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Priti Patel, the group argued that no Anglophone African country was exempted from taking the test, despite being part of the Commonwealth.
It further stated that the UK Home Office had exempted Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and 10 other countries from those required to take the test.
SaharaReporters