The Kigali School of Banking and Finance (SFB) has started processing English test certificates after complaints about non-issuance started piling up.

For long, the school has not been issuing certificates to students who pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) since its inception in 2006.

Against this background, Master of Business Administration (MBA) applicants have been complaining over non-issuing of certificates after passing the English test. It is a requirement recognized internationally for MBA applicants.

Students who spoke on condition of anonymity claim the charge of $150 for the TOEFL test, an international fee,was high if no certificate is awarded, yet in other countries where it is administered like Uganda, certificates are awarded.

Under such conditions, students had even boycotted paying the fee that was increased during this year’s MBA intake.

Emmanuel Batungwanayo, the Head of Business Communication and Languages department at SFB, acknowledged the concerns of students, saying the school too had received a series of complaints.

"It is upon this that the Board of Directors resolved to start processing certificates for TOEFL candidates who finished as early as 2006,” he explained.

The course’s duration is two to three years, and for a student to have passed the TOEFL exam, has to have a minimum of 550 points.

About the complaints that the $150 fee was hefty, Batungwanayo clarified that the tuition charged covers the costs of tests setting, communication, material preparation and personnel payment. He added that the fees’ structure setting was determined by the top university administration.

"However, we are to increase reading materials for students before they appear for the test,” Batungwanayo said.

Prof. Kistan Krishan Govender, the School’s Rector, explained that the fee was determined in comparison to the total costs incurred.

He explained that SFB administers ‘a compromised TOEFL test’ with the collaboration of Maastricht School of Management (MSM), to which SFB is affiliated.

"The English tests at SFB are an equivalent to the original (American) administered TOEFL,” Govender explained.

Prof. Govender also said the Board of Directors had approved the certificate sample and was awaiting the Senate’s approval before actual processing.

TOEFL is an English course that is offered by institutions of higher learning organised to help learners who have difficulties in the English language.

It had been predominantly administered by the American embassy in Rwanda, but SFB also introduced it in 2006, following increased demand for it.

The test at SFB was organised as a pre-requisite course for students enrolling for MBA.

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