Indians fail to speak English in US, despite having high IELTS score
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The police in Gujarat are probing why six IELTS-qualified people from the state were not able to speak English at a US court.
Despite scoring high on the English proficiency test, the men were not able to speak the language when they were produced before the court.
They were caught, while trying to enter the US, from a sinking boat in the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne, US, close to the Canadian border in March this year.
Inspector Bhavesh Rathod from Mehsana police's Special Operations Group (SOG) reportedly said all men are between the ages of 19 and 21.
After they failed to respond to the questions of the judge in English, a Hindi translator's help was sought, according to Inspector Rathod.
"The court was baffled as these students had scored 6.5 to 7 bands in IELTS," Inspector Rathod was quoted as saying.
The reports of the IELTS scoring students' inability to speak English have taken the internet by storm with many expressing shock at the news.
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a standard test of English proficiency for non-native speakers of the language.
It is important to get a good score for admission to good colleges in several countries.
One social media user said some people faking IETS would affect all students trying to make a career.
The police said the six young men took the test in south Gujarat's Navsari town on September 25, 2021.
Afterwards, they went to Canada on a student visa on March 19 this year, before they were caught at the US-Canada border.
The CCTV cameras, police said, at the exam hall were switched off.
Police have summoned the owners of the agency that was authorized to hold the exam.
(With inputs from PTI )