It is recognised by 11,000 universities and educational institutions
KATHMANDU, APRIL 8
With the reopening of universities and colleges across the world after a two-year halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Council Nepal - the sole authorised body for conducting International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in the country - has suggested that students here prepare for the IELTS exam in the best possible way so as to secure admission in foreign universities.
It is no surprise that scoring high grade in the IELTS exam will land the students in better universities with chances of securing scholarship.
However, despite being an academic test, IELTS is a 'simple test to check one's standard on English language, and should not be taken too seriously', the IELTS authorities in Nepal say. "IELTS is not the test you pass or fail. It's not that kind of test... It's just about making sure that people need to meet English language requirements to live, study and work," said Maxim Raimann Exam Director and General Manager at the British Council Services Nepal, the authorised body for conducting the IELTS examination in Nepal.
IELTS scores ranging from 1 to 9 reflect one's ability to communicate in English.
The universities or immigration authorities choose the score they require to ensure that people who meet the requirements are ready to live in that country or ready to study in that university.
"It's just about making sure that people have high level of English language to live, study and work," said Raimann. He also urged more Nepali students to join the IELTS exam to secure admission in the university.
"The UK, for instance, will now open up for international students. So, it would be better for aspiring students to join UK colleges to prepare language tests like IELTS," Raimann added.
IELTS is recognised by 11,000 universities and education institutions around the world. The UK and Australia have complete acceptance of the IELTS, while more than 3,000 universities and colleges in the USA and Canada accept the IELTS score. Many non-English speaking European countries running higher education in English language also require IELTS to join their colleges.
While it's no surprise that IELTS is the most favoured English language test in the country, Nepal has become the country with highest IELTS tests in the South Asia ahead of larger countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. IELTS, the pioneers of English language test in Nepal, continues to set the standard for such tests spreading its wings even in larger areas. The reason behind Nepali student's preference is not only the quality of the test it conducts, but also the wide range of options and support the IELTS provide.
First of all, students can choose either to take the IELTS through computer or through hand written format. Many students are keener on the computer test while others choose the traditional way of appearing in the examination like they did in their high schools. This gives them the option to either appear for the test in person with test taker for the spoken test or not.
If the students are more comfortable with writing in computer, it comes with some basic advantages like copy, paste, highlight and word counts which are not possible in the written test.
After registering with the IELTS, students will get access to 30 hours of online practice courses.
They will also get a free practice book of the IELTS. Students can also join the weekly interactive webinar organised by experts to acquire a detailed knowledge about the test.
Apart from academic IELTS for students, people who wish to go to the UK through the special UK Immigration process can take the IELTS UKVI test and those who want to go to other countries through immigration visas or dependent visas can take the IELTS as a life skill test. The number of Nepalis joining such tests is also on the rise. However, this number is less compared to academic IELTS.
Thousands of Nepali students take the IELTS test from 11 test centres that are spread over seven cities in the country on a regular basis. For example, approximately 1,800 students are all set to take the IELTS exam tomorrow alone.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
