Author Archives: Tobi Oyefeso

About Tobi Oyefeso

I am a socio-legal researcher, a child rights advocate, an inspirational and lifestyle blogger. I document my life journey including my Ph.D. journey on my blog and help people pursue their dreams.

TEACHER BEATS YAHAYA NUHU ALIYU TO DEATH OVER FAILURE TO DO HOMEWORK

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Mrs. Dorcas Gibson, a teacher at Federal Government College, Kwali reportedly beat a 13 year-old, J.S.S.2 boarding student for failure to do his homework. Incidentally, the victim of corporal punishment, Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu, Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu was the grandson to the late Aliyu Mohammed, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Prior to the teacher’s entry into the class, the deceased had initially gone to the school’s clinic to receive treatment but he could not be attended to on the basis that he had not eaten anything that day. The reason adduced by Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu for failing to do his assignment was that he was indisposed, yet, his teacher would not have his excuse, rather she initially asked the boy to remove weed as a punishment. After the pupil had observed this punishment, she consistently beat him on his head with the metal handle of a bucket until he slumped and died.[1]

The incident occurred during period eight on August 9, 2021. The school, where the incident occurred, Federal Government College, Kwali is located in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Narrating the incident, one of the classmates of Yahaya said, “During Period 8, Mrs. Gibson entered and requested for assignment submissions. Yahaya and I failed to submit and as a result she ordered us to take out weed. Yahaya had informed the teacher he was ill and didn’t do the assignment. Nevertheless, she ordered us to clear the weeds, after which we returned to class. His head was resting on the desk due to the illness but she severely beat him on the head with a metal bucket handle until he passed out.”

After the teacher left the class, Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu put his head on the table and remained still. This attracted the attention of his colleagues who called for assistance from the school authorities. He was taken to Rema Clinic where he was confirmed dead. This sparked off reactions from his classmates who took to the school’s premises in protest. Although the school (Federal Government College, Kwali) initially denied responsibility, by insisting that Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu died of malaria, a meeting was convened on August 11 and 13 where the school owned up. The school also begged the parents of the late Yahaya Nuhu Aliyu to forgive and forget, insisting that fact finding would only lead to displeasure.

Reacting to the incident, spokesperson of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, noted that the ministry had visited the parents of the victim of corporal punishment and had inaugurated a committee to investigate the alleged murder.[2] In a similar vein, Engineer, Musa Ibrahim, the National President of Federal Government Kwali Old Students Association (FEDGOKOSA) acknowledges the severity of the incident, noting further that it had the capacity to smear the good name and image of the school. He also promised to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that justice is done to all the parties concerned. In his words, “Since Sunday night up till this moment, it’s been calls, consultations, clarifications with different personalities ranging from the Father, Principal, deceased relatives and the list goes on, all these geared towards unraveling the fact on what caused the demise of our son, which has also smeared the integrity of our dear school… Be assured of NEC’s resolve to ensure that justice is done to our Son, his father and FGC Kwali that we rightly cherish.”[3] There has however been no publicized report from the Ministry of Education and the alumni association of the school.

5 PLACES I WOULD LOVE TO VISIT

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Visiting new places is something I am always excited about. However, there are limitations to where I/we can visit. This is either due to financial reason or others. Here are 5 places that I would love to visit, they are all unique and I hope one or two or all of them is/are also place(s) you would love to visit.

Dubai

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I am fascinated about the heritage and tradition of Dubai. The lifestyle is definitely something I would love to experience, especially the shopping aspect. The world’s tallest building (Burj Khalifa) is an attraction I would love to see and take pictures of. Other places I would love to visit in Dubai are: the Nemo Watersports, Oasis Adventures and Sonara Camp, and Dubai Aquarium &Underwater zoo.

Bangkok, Thailand

An ancient Asian city. Bangkok is the most populous city and capital of Thailand. The museums and architecture are places I will be looking forward to seeing. I love heritage places such as Jim Thompson House. The floating markets is captivating as I have never had an experience of that before. Other things I would love to do are: buy the traditional clothes and take pictures with them, visit the roof top bars, and lastly, order some traditional food especially Thai-style stir-fried noodles.

Venice, Italy

It is dreamy and romantic. It is also called floating city because of the fact that the city of Venice consists of 118 small islands connected by several bridges and canals. I would love to go on the canal tour to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It would be amazing to be here with a spouse or partner and order a classic cocktails such as Bellini.

Seychelles

I have always loved Seychelles, the serenity is astonishing. The island is a living natural history museum and I would love to visit Vallee de Mai National Park, the forest walk and definitely eat in this lovely environment. One scary thing I would love to do is diving and hopefully I don’t get to scream out the name ‘Jesus’ or my parent names.

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea. I’d love to go hiking, visit the famous red beach, go to eros beach, buy some sea food and fresh fish.

It would be great to hear your opinion. Kindly let us know your thoughts about the places you would love to visit or have visited. This will help me and readers to decide on places to visit or enlighten us more.

You alone are in charge of your destiny. What people think about you will always be nothing but thoughts. The choices you make defines who you are, therefore, make the right choice(s).

One of my favorite native food is EWA AGOYIN 💕

5 THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT SAY TO SOMEONE

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We say certain things that we do not realize how much it/they hurt the other person.

Below are the reasons why I highlighted these 5 things:

When you tell someone they cannot do it, you make them feel less of a person or discouraged. Yes, it might be true that they can’t do it but there are better ways to tell the person without hurting their feelings and also explaining to them why you think or know they can’t do it.
When you tell someone I paid a lot of money for that, you are indirectly rude and the person may feel that they do not befit that item or might instill fear. Honestly, you have every right to tell someone about how important an item is to you but try to be more courteous.
The third one is very funny. I have witnessed someone ask someone else that question in public to be specific. Most people laughed about it but it was literally not funny, the lady felt very embarrassed about the question as she just had her fourth child. This is a sarcastic question, we shouldn’t ridicule people indirectly.
AGE!!! This has been a very controversial topic. Research has proven that most people find it rude when you ask them about their age especially when you are trying to prove a point. Example is if someone is eating both hands and you ask ‘how old are you again?’ You are indirectly telling the person he/she is acting like a child.
The last one is why are you still single. Excuse me, is the person meant to provide a boyfriend/girlfriend for herself. Do we all have to be in a relationship? You can advise your friend about relationships but not in a condemning way.

Feel free to share your thoughts about this and share to people.

Educate, Advocate, Inspire, Lifestyle

EVERYONE’S JOURNEY IS DIFFERENT

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A short letter to you…

Dear friend,

I understand that sometimes life takes a toll on us and we feel that we are backwards or have not achieved what we want or wanted to have achieved but trust me you are not alone. Sometimes, I feel down, I feel disappointed at myself, I have previously felt that I could have done better in an examination and wondered if my mates who had the best of grades had 2 heads or even after a job interview, but over time I have gotten to understand this phrases “WORRYLESS” and “COMPARE LESS”.

Life is not a competition except if you make it one for yourself. The moment you started comparing your progress to another persons progress then you pursuing your destruction or affecting your mental health. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to have a role model or people we aspire to be like, but, that is different from chasing your friends dreams just because you are 30 years old and do not have a car and your friend is 30 years old with 2 cars or You are 20 years old and have not graduated from college and your friend is 18 years old and have graduated from college. My dear friend, there is nothing wrong with that and regardless of the situation, it doesn’t make you less of a better that you are. Remember that there is a difference between self-evaluation and self-comparison.

Comparison is the thief of joy.
by Theodore Roosevelt

Life is a journey that entails different obstacles, joys, moments, celebrations, hardships and any other thing you can think of. In this life journey, it is never smooth. Therefore, my dear friend please stay focused, show gratitude, set your goals right and live the best of it.

If you need to talk to me, feel free to fill the contact form.

You are awesome.

From,

Tobi.

Educate, Advocate, Inspire, Lifestyle

GUESS WHY I WAS SLAPPED

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I got into Junior Secondary School with so much excitement because I wanted to enjoy teenage age meeting new people outside my neighborhood, interact with children from various social and economic background, live away from home and test the strength of self-dependency at an early age and think to start a business as I come from background with lots of Medium scale entrepreneurs. My expectations on education, communication and learning were high and I could not wait for my first day as a junior secondary student in a boarding school.

I was enrolled in one of the best secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria and the sad reality of school appraisals in Nigeria is limited to their educational strength based on teaching methods and academic performance in comparison with other schools. Such methods are not constructively appraised on the benefit on mental, intellectual and physical wellbeing of the child. My case was no different as I was a exhibit for testing poor disciplinary methods on children. My parents identified the good academic qualities of this school and once all admission requirement were settled, I became a proud student of Queens College in Lagos Nigeria and lived in school (i.e. the boarding house system that put high responsibility on the school management to cater for the day-to-day wellbeing of students).

The proclivities in this system of child discipline in Nigeria increases the chances and sustainability of corporal punishment based on student-to-student and student-to-teacher relationships as a culture of brutality to define a reputation of “seniority” and dominance within the student community is synonymous to an uncivilized people with intentions to maim and demoralize their peers. When a junior student is a victim of corporal punishment from student of teacher for 4-5 years and sees how it gives a pseudo status of respect, they are very likely to be conditioned to apply such means in defining their roles and status in the student community when they become senior students.

I became a boarding student due to the distance of my school from home. It was a long distance to cover even by car and the traffic in Lagos would double, if not triple the time required to arrive early at school each day. Like I mentioned, the boarding system relinquishes certain responsibilities from the parents to the school management on behalf of their children and this was one of many responsibilities the school would take up that would be less burdensome on my parents and I. The idea of independence was critical to my parents and they wanted to build me up from a young age to be self-reliant and depend less on them for small issues I could manage especially interpersonal relationship and making small decision.

This is a good decision every parent will want for their children and safe to say they wanted a child, regardless of her gender that remains undermined both in terms of equity and equality in Nigeria, to be solid in intellectually and courageous. Though the rules and regulations were alien, I had to live within them as I was excited of my new milestone. Some of the rules were very unimaginable and monstrous and looking back at how they were developed, reviewed and agreed in managing child educational and behavioral development, i really wonder what the definition of child safety and child rights is in Nigeria (I will not dwell on that in this post).

FOOD! FOOD!! FOOD!!! was the reason my house mistress slapped me. Funny but that was why I was slapped, and I will go into a bit of details on it. On this particular day, I went to my guardian’s house receive a call from my parent who had not seen me for some time and as their only child, I think their concerns to speak to me over the phone was valid. After the call, in a show of kind gesture, my guardian gave me food to eat and I ate with so much happiness (considering the quantity and quality (nutritional value) of the food compared to the rations we got from the dining hall, every student would eat her food. I might have been wrong or right to have eaten at my guardians’ house but I’m not too sure a student of a boarding school will blame me for wanting good food.

Anyways, we had a dormitory captain who gave report to the house mistress about certain activities. She reported to the house mistress stating I sometimes ate at my guardians’ and not from the dining hall. Looking back, I can only say she was jealous how my guardian treated me especially with good food. One day, while eating at my guardians’, my house mistress showed up to “discipline me”. I was very surprised and knew somebody gave me up (the snitching systems to attract favor). My house mistress asked what I was doing at my guardians’ place and I replied, “I came to eat dinner”. Her response was “you even have the gut to talk”. At that point, I became very scared and started shivering. She asked me the question again and after responding the same way, she slapped me. I burst into tears and tried to inquire the reason she slapped me, her response to my question was several wipes on my back and legs with a cane she was holding.

At that point my guardian rushed outside to manage the situation and stop her from flogging me. This made them get at each other, at least in words and I felt really sad and because I was slapped and flogged for wanting good food and putting my guardian in a bad situation because I had no idea the implication with the school authority. The fact that food, a core need of a child can be responding in a hostile manner makes me think deeply about children that live without food and how they are treated when they reach out to people that can help or how people that help are perceived by the society. The takeaway for me was that a gap within the social welfare programme of the school was identified and as a school responsible for children wellbeing including quality food, addressing the issue was core not how the student responded to her appetite especially when she did not steal or bully another student for their meal.

My house mistress reported the case to the Vice Principal, which attracted a warning letter from the school after inviting my parents to discuss the matter. The decision from the school management supported the use of violence through corporal punishment meted on me. The mental and physical effect left traumatized as I felt most vulnerable when my parents went home. I did not feel safe and that was not a concern of the school. The direct effect this had on me was I couldn’t speak for myself and always resorted to the help if my guardian, eliminating the goal of developing self-confidence and able to make small decisions on my life. I became more dependent and asking myself questions as “Did she really have to hit me?”, “Couldn’t she have just reported me to the management, if she felt I was wrong or tell me why I was expected to eat from the school dining hall?”.

Guess what, I did not stop going to have those delicious meals at my guardians’ despite the violence and I began taken my dormitory captain along after she apologized to me, we became friends afterwards. My enthusiasm against corporal punishment is that it does not solve the root problem of any poor behavior a child display. It only helps the child grow to understand that (s)he can only manage such root problems by herself/himself and those that do not accept her/his methods of managing root problems will react violently not because they are trying to lead acceptable socio-cultural behaviors but because they lack capacity of an effective way to salvage the problem bedeviling the child and this leads me to make my final comment on this post on corporal punishment. To any teachers, house mistresses, house masters, guardians and parents, the violence you preach is not the solution to the problem.

I was treated poorly because of food but The death of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Abuja (Keren Akpagher) would have had worse experience. Kindly share your thoughts about this and more if you have similar experience.

The death of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Abuja

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How sad is it to know that Miss Keren-Happuch Akpagher, a 14-year-old student of Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja died after a used condom was found in her on the 22nd of June, 2021.

The school matron, Mrs Grace Salami said “she was diabetic, sedated, tied on both hands and feet before death”. Therefore, she disagreed to the claim made by Akpagher family and said “condom is latex and it is not supposed to decay, and if it has been in her private part for days, the sperm cells should not be found in her urine”. This was said during her conversation with Vanguard.

The Principal said “No stone will be left unturned to arrest the perpetrators”

According to her friends, she couldn’t walk from the hostel to class and her friends helped her to write her test.

Keren-Happuch Akpagher mother told punch media that she called the principal to request the pick up of her daughter but she was discouraged after the principal told her that her daughter will need to isolate for 5 days when she returns. she said “I felt I should go home since the school said they could take care of her”. Her daughter called her back insisting on leaving the school as she has her reasons. So, Mrs. Akpagher went back to the school and Karen Akpagher was rushed to a private clinic called Queens Hospital in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja. According to the doctors and medical tests done, the discharge from Karen’s vagina was discovered to be a condom and her urine test was dead spermatozoa. After 2 days, Keren died and the death was as a result of hyperglycemia triggered by sepsis due to the condom found in her vagina.

The believe of Keren’s family is that Keren was sexually abused and her mother is demanding justice which the school is supportive about it and the case is been investigated by the police. However, the school matron does not believe she was sexually abused.

This is a really sorrowful news, we hope the investigation goes well and pray for justice if she was truly sexually abused.

TO PARENTS: TEACH WITHOUT VIOLENCE

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It is funny how adults feel offended or upset when their fellow adult slaps them but they do not think about how a child feels when they slap them. YES, you are older than the child, YES, that is your child or YES, you are trying to correct the child or teach the child. These are some justifications for hitting a child but it is not justified when your fellow colleague or friend slaps you because they are correcting you.

The context of teaching a child without violence such as corporal punishment has been debatable over the years. Protagonists and Antagonists of Corporal punishment also known as Physical punishment agree to the same context that corporal punishment is to inflict pain on a child to curb a child’s behavior. However, in the argument of the Antagonists, the use of corporal punishment encourages a violent society by teaching us that the means of teaching, learning, correcting behavior is not effective without violence, hence, leading to an increase in aggressive people. In addition, there are several negative factors of the use of violence (corporal punishment) such as the mental health of the child and physical injuries which has led to the death of some children.

Whist I was (still) undergoing my doctoral research, I have understood that the term “violence” is very broad and some persons do not consider “corporal punishment” as a form of violence. Examples of violence against children are child slavery, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, negligence, violent psychological discipline, physical abuse (corporal punishment and many more. These examples are confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and some other international organization reports that are aimed at protecting or safeguarding children. At what point do we draw a line between the use of physical punishment and the excessive use of physical punishment? Some proponents have argued that the administration of corporal punishment (physical punishment) should be limited to certain numbers of strokes or flogging and on a particular part of a child’s body, that will not cause injuries or harm to a child.

Back in secondary school, I remember how the teachers whip us (the students) and this did not have a positive impact as we adapted to the violence and did not learn to stop the bad behavior, rather we found alternatives to avoid getting caught. A lot of students especially the senior students exhibited this act on the junior students and even their mates. This increased the rate of violence and aggression amongst friends, siblings and colleagues.

I strongly advice that the use of violence to discipline a child is not the best and it has been proven from several medical, psychological and social research.

Feel free to drop your opinion about the use of violence (corporal punishment) to discipline a child.

LIST OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2021/2022; REQUIREMENTS, ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER VITAL INFORMATION

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UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA

There are various categories of scholarships in the University of Ottawa, Canada and they will be examined below.

THE PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARSHIP AND THE CHANCELLOR’S SCHOLARSHIP (THE CHANCELLOR’S SCHOLARSHIP IS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS):

They are part of the most prestigious scholarships at the University of Ottawa. The Chancellor’s scholarship is valued at $6,500 per year ($26, 000 in total) and it is awarded to one full-time undergraduate international student. The President’s Scholarship is valued at $7,500 per year ($30, 000 in total) and it is awarded to one full-time undergraduate student. The scholarships also provide a one-time award of $1,500 to applicants who emerge as the second, third and fourth most qualified.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the President’s and Chancellor’s scholarship, prospective applicants must:

Hold a student visa
Have a minimum admission average of ninety-two percent (92%)
Demonstrate leadership qualities and a commitment to academic activities.
Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 8.50 (to ensure the grant of the scholarship in subsequent years). Students who have a CGPA between 8.00 and 8.49 can renew their scholarship, only that it will be issued at 50% of its total value.
Must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident or must have a protected person status.
Must be enrolled for the first time in a university undergraduate program

The deadline for all the above mentioned scholarships (the President’s and Chancellor’s scholarship) is April 30, 2021.

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA; THE FACULTY OF ARTS DEAN’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is valued at $4, 000 and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ottawa awards 10 of its kind. To be eligible:

Students must be enrolled full time, and for the first time, in an undergraduate program in the Faculty of Arts.
Students must have a minimum admission average of 90%.
Students who have been chosen for this scholarship must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 9.00 at the end of each term in order for the scholarship to be renewed.

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA; THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING DEAN’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is valued at $5, 000 (for students who have an admission average between 95 and 100%) or $4,000 ((for students who have an admission average between 90 and 94.9%) and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Ottawa awards 35 of its kind. To be eligible:

Students must be enrolled full time, and for the first time, in an undergraduate program in the Faculty of Engineering.
Students must have a minimum admission average between 90 and 100% as the case may be.
Students who have been chosen for this scholarship must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 9.00 at the end of each term in order for the scholarship to be renewed.

REQUIREMENTS

No application is required for the Faculties of Arts and Faculty of Engineering Deans’ Merit Scholarship as all eligible students (including international students are considered for this award.

In order to apply for all the above mentioned scholarships, please visit: scholarships.uottawa.ca

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP U.K. (ALSO REFERRED TO AS THINK BIG SCHOLARSHIP)

The scholarship awards are valued at 5, 000 euros and 10, 000 euros at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels respectively. The scholarships are however given using the form of a tuition fee discount and no cash alternative will be offered. Again, if the scholarship award is more than the cost of the tuition fees, any remainder will not be issued. Finally, the scholarship does not apply to placement year (internship or industrial attachment) years.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for University of Bristol’s undergraduate scholarship, potential students must:

Apply for courses other than medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. Post graduate students must be applying to one-year, full-time postgraduate programme at the University of Bristol.
Be prepared to resume their undergraduate or postgraduate programme in the month of September (2021)
Prospective students must not be recipients of alternative funding, which when added to the Bristol Scholarship, would be more than the full tuition fees.
Owing to the United Kingdom Visa and Immigration regulations, Prospective candidates must be able to show that they have adequate funds to cover the remainder of their tuition fees and living expenses.
Students need to indicate that they are overseas students for paying purpose.

The deadline for the Bristol University Scholarship, is 29^th of March 2021 (10am) Responses for this first batch of applications will be given by the institution’s authorities by 26^th of April 2021. The deadline for the second batch of Bristol University Scholarship applications is 14^th of June, 2021. (This is an extension of time for postgraduate applicants only.) Postgraduate students are however advised to apply during the first batch of scholarship applications. Late applications will be unattended to and double applications (by postgraduate students) will be unaccepted. Responses on the second batch of applications will be given by the institution’s authorities by 9^th of July, 2021.

To apply, please visit: www.bristol.ac.uk/international/fees-finance/scholarships/application-guidance

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS USA

Originating in 1946, the Fulbright scholarship is sponsored by the United States’ Department of State. It is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program designed to foster common understanding with over 155 nations through educational and cultural exchange. Particularly, the scholarship is granted to people from economically disadvantaged groups, minorities and people who do not usually get enough representation. It is a fully funded scholarship that covers full tuition fee, a living stipend, full accommodation fee, airfare and health insurance for up to five years.

ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS OF FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS USA

It is open to all individuals of the world in all fields of study and it is awarded irrespective of the applicant’s race, sex, age or religion. Applicants must however be prospective Masters or PhD students. The Fulbright scholarship is not opened to undergraduate studies.

To be eligible:
A prospective candidate must be proficient in English language.

Such a person must belong to one of the 155 countries to which the scholarship is applicable.

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP USA

Founded in 1891, Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic University and law school located on 50 acres of land in Seatle’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood in the United States of America. It is home to more than 850 international students from more than 60 countries. The Seattle University Scholarship is valued at over $48, 000 and it spans over 4 academic years.

ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS USA

Individuals from all countries of the world are eligible to participate in the Seattle University scholarship.

Undergraduates applicants are however to have the equivalent of a United States Grade Point Average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and to provide official and certified English language translations of all the transcripts from each educational institution attended.

Unlike other universities, Seattle University does not require the ACT (American College Test) or SAT (originally meaning Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores of applicants. However, these scores enhance the approval of an application.

Importantly however, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English language regardless of their length of residency in the United States of America.

To apply: Visit: https://www.seattleu.edu/international/scholarships/#d.en.297644

YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP USA

Yale is the third oldest university in the United States Of America and it was established in 1701 at New Haven, Connecticut. The Yale University Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship which is open to undergraduate, masters and PhD students from all countries and is valued at over $50, 000 on the average. The award meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without any loans and 64% of students receive financial assistance.

ELIGIBILITY FOR YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

Individuals from all countries of the world are eligible to participate in the Yale University scholarship.

ELIGIBILITY

To be qualified for Yale University Scholarships, the following criteria are to be fulfilled, viz:

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores of at least 100 on the internet-based TOEFL, 600 on the paper-based TOEFL or 250 on the computer-based TOEFL

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and Pearson Test scores of 70 or higher.

REQUIREMENTS FOR YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarship is open to individuals from all countries of the world, however, since it is a need-based scholarship, one or more of the following requirements must be met and a statement from a school official, college access counselor, financial aid officer or community leader could be gotten to attest to the fact that such individuals:

Must have been enrolled in or eligible to participate in the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program (FRPL)
Must have received or be eligible to receive a SAT testing fee waiver
Must be enrolled in a federal, state or local program that helps students from low-income families. For example, TRIO programs like Upward Bound.
Must be a ward of the state or an orphan
Must have an annual family income that falls within the income eligibility guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
Must live in a federally subsidized public housing, a foster home or must be homeless.
Must receive financial aid from the public.

PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION: Prospective students can apply for the Yale University Scholarship by visiting: https://admissions.yale.edu

REFERENCES

global-scholarship.shoptorsi.com/

global-scholarship.shoptorsi.com/2021/01/28/study-in-uk-university-of-bristol-international-scholarship-2021-apply-online/

https://admissions.yale.edu

https://world.yale.edu/admissions

scholarshiproar.com/yale-university-scholarships/

scholarshiproar.com/seattle-university-scholarships/

scholarshiproar.com/Fulbright-scholarships-usa/?amp

SECOND YEAR OF MY PHD PROGRAM

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It’s been a year and 8 months since I started my Ph.D program. I wouldn’t say it has been easy especially with the global pandemic caused by the now infamous COVID’19. I faced a lot of difficulties in passing through my second phase. One major difficulty was my mental health. I will start this story from the beginning of when I moved into the second phase of my research.

I was supposed to be registered for my second year by May 2020, however, I was unable to register that month. This caused me to apply for an extension. In summary, I registered for my second year by June 2020. This is when my journey began. Due to my late registration, I was unable to meet up to certain deadlines which made me tighten up my buckles. The pressure of my year 2 deliverable was too much and I was battling with concentration. There were lots of distractions/hindrances at that time such as the fear of contacting the virus, worrying about family and friends, no access to the library. To be honest I felt the world was coming to an end, but it wasn’t. I managed to submit my RDDA, which normally entails an agreed plan of you and your supervisors towards the next phase of your research.

Going into my second year, I thought about several conferences, paper articles, seminars and many other research activities I would like to participate in. Sadly, all of them were canceled , however, I was able to participate in online workshops and training that were organized by the university. Examples of workshops I attended are data collection, data analysis, career planning, ethics, research planning and so on. And yes, the 3MT competition I participated in and was able to reach the finalist stage.

These issues aside, my thesis focused on my theoretical discussion and continuation of my literature review. I had a full grasp of my research, better than my first year. I was supposed to commence my data collection, however, my ethics was denied three times. I am literally still on my ethics process and I do hope to get done with it as soon as possible. My ethics was denied due to different reasons such as the vulnerability of some of the participants, travel restrictions, ambiguity of my research questions.

Honestly, my second year was a marathon but I am excited I passed through it. I am looking forwards to commencing my third year and the higher marathon that might come with it.

I am concluding this by using this opportunity to say a big thank you to all my family and friends that have always trusted and believed in me.

Cheers xx

3MT Competition

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Yes, I participated in the 3MT competition. If you do not know what the 3MT competition is about, it is a 3 minutes thesis competition that started at Queensland University, Australia. The intention or aim of this competition is for Ph.D students to be able to present their thesis to a wide range of audience within a limited time.

The moment I saw the opening for the competition, I was excited to participate but I was not sure I would be able to catch up to it due to too many activities I had on my list. As always, I was determined to try. However, I was not able to attend enough training and feedbacks that were organized by the doctoral college at Coventry University but I attended 2 sessions and presented during one of the sessions. The feedback session was very important because I got relevant feedbacks and opinions from both the organizers and other participants, this helped me in restructuring my content to fit the understanding of the audience.

I was glad to be amoung the finalists at the Coventry university finale. The news caught me unaware and I got really good feedback from other participants, lecturers and organizers of the competition.

One mistake I realised I made was that I was talking too fast during my presentation.

The key things I addressed in my presentation are

An engaging topic and introduction. I started my introduction by saying ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. This is a popular religious phrase, however, I briefly explained the use of that phrase in my presentation. My advice is that when preparing for your 3MT, you should use a catchy topic and introduction.
I involved my personal experience in the presentation and I made the audience feel what the victim
The presentation was simple and straightforward. The presentation had a coherent and consistent flow by explaining why I decided to work on my thesis, what my research is addressing, the methodology that I used and that will be used, the importance of my research and who or what organisations it will be beneficial to.

I hope you enjoyed readng this and you have been able to have a broader understanding about the 3MT competition.