• April 24, 2019

Martyn Day MP to wed Malayalee who fell victim to flawed TOEIC tests

Martyn Day MP to wed Malayalee who fell victim to flawed TOEIC tests

LONDON April 24: Nidhin Chand, a Malayalee from Pampakuda, a small town in Ernakulam district in Kerala, arrived in the UK as a student and had to sit the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).

Before the results could arrived the Home Office wrongly deported 48,000 people after a BBC Panorama documentary in 2014 claimed to have uncovered fraudulent activity at an East London school involving overseas students sitting the TOEIC.
However, it was later revealed that the blame rested with the flawed computer system of a US company.
Although 48,000 were deported there were many who stayed behind to fight their cause in UK courst. Later, the Court of Appeals ruled that those accused of cheating in a 2014 investigation into two ETS test centres have the right to challenge the original ruling from within the UK.
Thus Nidhin was one of the lucky ones who stayed behind and was able to appeal the ruling.
Nidhin Chand met Martyn Day MP in London, during that period she was lobbying in the parliament for TOEIC victims. Martyn Day MP has served as the Scottish National Party MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk since 2015. Prior to his political career, he worked for the Bank of Scotland as a personal banking manager.
In an exlusive interview with www.ukmalayalee.com Nidhin said: “I was one of the victim . When Martyn Day MP heard my story he felt the need to help me,
“He assured me with support and understanding,  he told me he too had lived in the past with minimal payment, so knows the difficulty. Due to my visa issues I was depressed, so to alleviate my hardship Martyn took me to his family, an his parents took me  as their family immediately.
“Due to the stress and uncertainty about my visa situation my mental situation got worse and Martyn kept supporting me throughout”.
“Life moved on and finally one day Martyn, who is a divorcee, proposed me. I warned him that I didnt have a job or visa.
So Martyn and myself decided to apply for spouse visa, we did not marry traditionally at that time because I had a prayer to Guruvayoor temple to have my marriage at the temple.
So we are still waiting to do the ritual in a traditional way. We will do it once Martyn gets a break from the parliament.
In August 2018 Martyn Day MP and Nidhin Chand visited the flood hit Kerala and was involved in charity works by getting involved with ground realities in those affected areas by visiting the relief camps.
Martyn also held meetings with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Speaker, finance minister and other government officials. Martyn will move ahead with the initial meetings to further collaborations and connect Scottish departments and expertise with various department heads with the Kerala government. The strategic aim is to work towards establishing strong network between India and Scotland.
Martyn was all praise for Keralites as he termed them as Gods Own People.
Nidhin is too a divorcee and has a son who is in Kerala. The couple are hoping to get a break from the Brexit talks in the parliament to get to Guruvayur temple to tie the knot the earliest opportunity.

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