Author Archives: policyshapersadmin

Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports #ReformIELTS

PRESS STATEMENT Abuja, Nigeria, 09 August 2022 – The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, met with a delegation from Policy Shapers and Change.org on Friday, August 5, 2022, in Abuja. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of engagement with the UK government and otherContinue reading “Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports #ReformIELTS”

Join the movement: Ask Your School to #ReformIELTS

Are you a student, lecturer, administrator, or alumni of a university or tertiary institution that still requests English-speaking Africans to write English proficiency tests before gaining admission? Policy Shapers and our team of campaigners are working hard to address this issue directly with the UK government, and here is how you can join us toContinue reading “Join the movement: Ask Your School to #ReformIELTS”

1-minute Survey: What are the urgent Youth development issues in Nigeria?

Policy Shapers is organizing Naija Policy Hackathon; a 48-hour virtual policy hackathon aimed at crowdsourcing policy ideas that respond to urgent youth development issues in Nigeria from up to 300 young people to contribute to the policy agenda for the 2023 general elections. The hackathon is scheduled to hold from Friday, August 12 (International YouthContinue reading “1-minute Survey: What are the urgent Youth development issues in Nigeria?”

Our Response Letter to the Home Office – April 14, 2022

April 14, 2022 Simplification of the Rules Taskforce (SORT),  Home Office,  2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF, United Kingdom. CC The Rt Hon Priti Patel MP,  Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF, United Kingdom. Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, The Speaker of the House of Commons. HouseContinue reading “Our Response Letter to the Home Office – April 14, 2022”

Campaign Statement: Home Office is beating around the bush, must respond to our policy brief

This morning we received, with shock and disappointment, an “automatic message” from the Simplification of the Rules Taskforce (SORT) of the Home Office saying they are unable to respond to “external policy questions”. This is coming one month after we sent a 15-page policy brief spiced with data points from the United Nations, West AfricanContinue reading “Campaign Statement: Home Office is beating around the bush, must respond to our policy brief”

10:3 Voting System: What African Wild Dogs can teach the UN Security Council about Voting

Last week when Russia voted against a UN Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution condemning its invasion of Ukraine, thereby using its veto power as a permanent member to block the resolution, it got people talking about the effectiveness of the Security Council’s voting system. As fate would have it, about six months ago, Learn BiomimicryContinue reading “10:3 Voting System: What African Wild Dogs can teach the UN Security Council about Voting”

UK Home Office responds to our petition, but leave many questions unanswered

Thanks to all our 45,000+ supporters and all of the pressure we have generated on social media which has now made #ReformIELTSPolicy a trending discussion topic online, the UK Home Office through its Simplification Of the Rules Taskforce yesterday (January 26, 2022 at 4:33pm WAT) replied to a formal inquiry we sent to its office and the HomeContinue reading “UK Home Office responds to our petition, but leave many questions unanswered”

This is why we are asking the UK Home Office to #ReformIELTSPolicy for Anglophone Africans

It all began in February 2020 when I received that email from Nexford University requesting for an English proficiency result as part of the admission requirements for their Bachelor’s program. This request came even after I had paid admission fees, submitted my O-Level results, my journalism diploma certificate and my Harvard Kennedy School Executive EducationContinue reading “This is why we are asking the UK Home Office to #ReformIELTSPolicy for Anglophone Africans”

How Open Data can drive Transparency and Transformation in Virtual Universities

To: International Council for Open and Distance Educational Standards (ICDES) From: Ebenezar Wikina, Comfort Onyaga, Chimdi Chukwukere, Kehinde Adebiyi Date: 4/10/2021 Re: How Open Data can drive Transparency and Transformation in Virtual Universities _ Executive Summary The pandemic era has forced universities worldwide to pivot to online learning platforms with lessons emerging daily about theContinue reading “How Open Data can drive Transparency and Transformation in Virtual Universities”