I would like to write something.
Hmm.
Some time ago it came to my attention that as part of my ongoing residence requirements for the UK, I would need to sit a test. A citizenship test! Yes, that test.
The Life in the UK Test. The same test that many people born and bred in the UK, had they need to take it without first studying the official guide, would fail. Australia has a similar test.
I'm not sure how I feel about the test. On one hand it has just been a rather stressful and annoying element of the box ticking that needs to be done for my Unlimited Leave to Remain. On the other hand, I am gobsmacked at how difficult it is, and I actually fail to see what it ultimately achieves. Well, no, I don't fail to see what it ultimately achieves. I don't
like what it ultimately achieves.
The test, in essence, is designed for only a certain section of the community to be able to pass it. First, you need to have a very good understanding of the nuances of written English, as some of the questions are not simply worded. All fine and dandy for me, an Australian, but not so great if English is not your first language. I'm left wondering what kinds of people they are trying to eliminate with the test, and frankly I don't want to talk about it out loud, as it makes me feel dirty.
On Wednesday morning, there were people in that testing centre who probably failed the test. Thirty three pounds and twenty eight pence later, that's a pretty lucrative fail on behalf of whichever department the funds ultimately end up supporting.
There is an alternative for those who are not capable of reading or speaking English to the level that the test requires, and that is a course, which I understand has a test at the end of it. I have not researched this course or its ultimate requirements, so I can't comment on what it might or might not achieve, although I wouldn't be surprised if it hoped to achieve the same sort of chaff sifting that the Life in the UK Test seems to be designed for.
Ultimately, I should just shut up and be happy, as I passed the test. Selfishly, what should I care about the people who took the test with me on Wednesday? The thing is, I do care. In the weeks I took to study the test, it was constantly playing on my mind that there would be people who would not be able to pass this test. My own mother, for example, does not have the kind of study or memory skills required. How many other peoples loved ones just don't have the right kind of aptitude for something like this? It worries me. On a very basic level, the test just isn't humane, and is actually intellectual snobbery at its most vile.
