Do you want your name on University of Oxford certificate?

When Hon. Dimeji Bankole became Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives after the resignation of Patricia Etteh, everybody was asking, “Who is he?” When they were told that he studied at Oxford and Harvard, everybody was tight-lipped. They were only able to say, “He must be educated. This is the speaker we want”. They said this without knowing anything about the man other than he studied at these world renowned institutions. This clearly illustrates the fact that, if you can associate your name with Oxford or Harvard, people will see you as soundly educated and highly intelligent even if you share the same neurons with the Dumb and the Dumberer.

Are you not just curious to experience first hand if the value of Oxford education equals the hype? As you’ll soon discover, Oxford education is within the reach of every body. Even the secondary school leaver that sells pure water in the streets of Abuja - and who is roundly hounded by the FCDA task force- can go to Oxford. And I’m not talking about ability only; I’m also talking about affordability. This pure water seller can afford to go to University of Oxford! “What’s he talking about?” you say. Well let me tell you what this piece is not. It’s not an inspirational writing that will get you so exhilarated only for the excitement to wear off tomorrow. This piece is a road map that when you follow, will not only lead to having your name on the University of Oxford certificate, but it will also make you an alumnus of the university in the next couple of months. Thereafter, you can rub shoulders with the Speaker, if you like.

What can I register for?

This discussion does not cover undergraduate degree, master degree or any degree. Not that these are not attainable by ordinary Nigerians. They are. But I believe it’s always better to start from the simplest things so that the height you gained from taking the first steps will enable you to see higher horizon. Thus, we are starting with 10-week certificate courses. It doesn’t matter for now whether you’re going for certificate, diploma or degree courses, what matters now is to experience Oxford University in the comfort of your own room and to have your humble name on that oft-glorified card and start enjoying the benefits that come with it. So Oxford is Oxford whether you studied Nuclear Physics there or you were taught 1, 2, 3 and a, b, c.

Courses

At Oxford Continuing Education Department, there are several courses you can register for. But we are going to limit ourselves to two philosophy courses that I’m sure are open for enrollment right now. The courses are Epistemology (The Theory of Knowledge) and Political Philosophy. Each is a 10-week course beginning January 2007.

Epistemology

The aim of the short Epistemology course is to:
(1) introduce students to the main themes in the theory of knowledge, such as the problem of scepticism, the various debates regarding how best to understand what knowledge is, and the key issues regarding the sources of knowledge;
(2) like all philosophy courses, it also aims to help participants to think clearly and critically.

Additionally, the course will introduce students to philosophy and to the critical skills that are involved in doing philosophy, guide students through the central topics in the theory of knowledge and enable students to gain a thorough grounding in the key debates in this central area of philosophy.

The theory of knowledge is one of the most central areas of philosophy. In this online course students will cover the key questions in the theory of knowledge, such as:

What is knowledge?
Why is knowledge valuable to us?
What are the sources of knowledge?
Do we really have any knowledge?



Certification

The course is accredited and you will be awarded credit by the Board of Studies of Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. The award will take the form of 10 units of transferable credit at undergraduate level 1 of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). To receive the credit, the student must participate and complete written contributions passably.


Assessment methods

The course assessment will be a written essay of about 1,000 words. Alternatively, students can submit a commentary on their contributions to the course discussions in about 1,000 words. Isn’t that easy?

Recommended reading

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following book ;Pritchard, D. H., What is This Thing Called Knowledge? (2006) Routledge, London. ISBN: 0415387981. The price is £14.99.

Prof Duncan Pritchard who is the author of the above book is also the author of this course. Prof Pritchard has written extensively on epistemology. His recent works include, Epistemic Luck, published in 2005 by Oxford University Press.


It’s not necessary to give details on Political Philosophy because the information on Epistemology roughly covers it. Except that in the case of Political Philosophy you have to buy two books unlike Epistemology which requires only one.

Fee

The fee for each course minus the books is £395. That’s roughly N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira). Even if you don’t have the money right away, you can save towards this simple way of obtaining excellent education from a world-class university.

For more information, visit: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/

Next, we are going to guide you towards putting your name on the Harvard Graduate School of Education certificate for less than N70, 000 (seventy thousand naira). A pie in the sky? Stay with me!

Visit my website www.degreein1year.googlepages.com to learn more about affordable courses and accelerated degrees.