Have you ever stopped to think how much money Africa is losing to language proficiency tests?

A close friend recently told me he was preparing to sit for the IELTS test — and how the cost had increased again.

It immediately took me back to when I sat for the same exam years ago, just to get into business school. And I remember making a bitter remark to myself: “Why are we still paying so much for this?”

I understand the need for such organizations. Nobody wants to be in a classroom where students can’t understand what’s being taught. That makes sense.

But here’s what shocks me 👇🏽

While waiting for my own exam to begin, I chatted with other candidates. Their English was flawless — clean and articulate. And yet, they were all required to sit for an “English proficiency” exam just to study or travel abroad.

Why?

Let’s look at the numbers 💰

➡️ One exam costs not less than 200,000 FCFA (roughly $300–$350).

 ➡️ Multiple exam centers in each country.

 ➡️ Exams happening almost every month.

Now multiply that by thousands of candidates across Africa each year. That’s millions of dollars flowing out of “poor” African nations just for us to prove we speak the very languages we were forced to adopt.

Most African countries have English or French as official languages. We study entire curricula in these languages. In Cameroon, for example, an average BAC/GCE A-Level holder communicates fluently in either French or English respectively.

So why, after sidelining our local languages to master these foreign ones, must we still pay huge sums just to be recognized as proficient?

And here’s the kicker:

Even some European countries which don't necessarily have FR or EN as official languages are sometimes exempted.

 But Africans, who were compelled to learn these languages and have learned them still have to pay endlessly?

Ofcourse I passed my exam and got the admission but even the nature of the exams tests way beyond your ability to communicate alone. You could be a perfect speaker and still fail if you don't prepare accordingly.

That's without even mentioning some of these certifications are not valid past 2 years (Okay).

I’ll never forget sitting in that room with many other fluent candidates, wondering how much money had been siphoned away from us that day alone.

This isn’t just about personal frustration. It’s about systemic inequity. And it’s about governments that should be negotiating smarter — striking partnerships or advocating for exemptions for countries that already function officially in English or French.

💡 My honest take: This is a conversation Africans need to start having more openly.

 Because until we ask hard questions, we’ll keep bleeding resources out.

👉 What do you think?

 Should African governments fight for exemptions in global language proficiency policies? Drop your thoughts in the comments 

By Josiane Ndogmo via LinkedIn