Four Gujarat students with top scores in IELTS failed to speak English before US court.

The police in Gujarat have launched an investigation after six people from the state failed to speak in English before a US court despite having a high score in the English proficiency test IELTS. The men were caught entering the US on a boat from Canada in March this year. The Internet is also baffled after the news about the arrest of these people surfaced online. The probe has been launched at the request of American authorities.

Inspector Bhavesh Rathod from Mehsana police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) was quoted as saying by PTI that the six people, all between the ages of 19 and 21, were caught from a sinking boat in the Saint Regis river in Akwesasne, US, close to the Canadian border. The group was attempting to cross the border illegally when their boat began to take on water and began to sink. Fortunately, authorities were able to catch them and bring them into custody before anyone was hurt.

“When they were produced before a court in the US, they failed to answer in English the questions asked by the judge.The court had to take the help of a Hindi translator. The court was baffled as these students had scored 6.5 to 7 bands in IELTS,” the inspector said.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test of English proficiency for non-native speakers of the language. A good score on the IELTS is necessary for admission to good colleges in several countries.

On September 25, 2021, six young men appeared for an exam in south Gujarat’s Navsari town. They went to Canada on a student visa on March 19 this year, nearly two weeks before they were caught at the US-Canada border.