‘It Is An Insult To Increase IELTS Exam Fees For Nigerians’ – Reno Omokri

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Reno Omokri, has reacted to the proposed increase in  International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic exam fees for Nigerians.

Naija News earlier reported that information from the British Council on Thursday disclosed that starting from September 2023, Nigerians will pay N107,500 for the exam.

The UK mandates the test for foreigners seeking to relocate for work or study.

Previously priced between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, the new cost is nearly three times the country’s N30,000 minimum wage.

The council justified the increase, saying it ensures a “high quality of standards for the testing experience.”

Reacting to the latest development, Reno Omokri, in a post via his Twitter page, appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the planned increase of IELTS fees.

According to the former presidential aide, it is demeaning that Nigerian graduates whose degrees are taught in the English Language are compelled to write the exam.

Reno added that it is also an insult to increase the cost of IELTS exams for Nigerians when it should even be scrapped.

He wrote: “I appeal to the Nigerian government to intervene in the planned increase of fees for the IELTS exam for Nigerians seeking to study in The UK to ₦107,500, an amount which is three times the current Nigerian minimum wage.

“First, it is already an insult to ask Nigerian university graduates, whose degrees were taught in English, in a supposedly English speaking country. And secondly, it is adding salt to that injury to now increase the fees for the exam when it should even be scrapped. What is the benefit of the commonwealth where there is no respect for pit common language?”