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Purity Ngina, a young woman born and raised in Mbiriri Village, Kieni East in Nyeri County has hit media headlines after becoming one of Kenya's youngest PhD graduates.
The 28-year-old last born in a family of two siblings, was the youngest PhD graduate at the recent graduation ceremony at Strathmore University.
Ngina overcame adversities to graduate with the highest education qualification while still in her twenties; a fete that only a few have managed. She was awarded a PhD in Biomathematics at Strathmore.
She recalls attending her primary education at a school in the village without shoes, and fetching water from River Sagana, located 3km from her home.
Ngina scored 235 marks in her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, but her quest for education pushed her to repeat the class, scoring 368 marks on her second try. She then joined Tumu Tumu High School in Nyeri, where managed to score B (plus) in her KCSE examinations to earn admission at Egerton University, where she studied a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.
She graduated with First Class honors and was offered a full scholarship to pursue a Masters in Applied Mathematics in 2013.
“I was awarded a scholarship after graduating with First Class Honors of 75 points. I accepted the offer, and pursued a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics at the same university [Egerton]. The Master’s programme ran between 2013 and 2015, when I graduated. I was 25 years old then,” she said.
After graduating with Master's degree, she was hired as an assistant lecturer at Strathmore University in 2016. “I teach Calculus to students pursuing Actuarial Science, Financial Engineering, and Financial Economics,” she says.
The German Academic Exchange Service offered her with scholarship to pursue PhD at the institution and on June 29th, she was among the three doctorate graduates at Strathmore University.
Ngina is younger than most of her postgraduate students, but how do they relate with her? “They respect me. We joke when necessary; and when we bump into each other on the streets, we say hello. During lessons, they respect the lecturer-student relationship that binds us,” she says.
Her mantra is: “Shatter the glass ceiling if you can; nothing is impossible; nothing should stop you.”
Comments
Congratulation Purity Ngina for your academic achievement and for being a role model to our young generation.For as you said nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it and just focus and work hard.
Something does not add up. She got her masters in 2015 and was hired as an assistant lecturer in 2016 prior to starting her PhD. Assuming, she started her PhD in 2016, it seems impossible to get it in 2 years! Either her age is not reported correctly or the PhD's at Strathmore are questionable.
Relax, its normal for people get their PhDs at that age in certain countries. Including America. It is doable.
@Mugikuyu, age is not the issue but it is very hard to get a PhD. in two years. Hongera dada
Masters in the US typically 2 years. Getting a PhD in a stem course is NOT two years. Do not try and dilute the meaning of a doctorate. If it was two years, way more people would have them. Even in the humanities, PhD's do not take two years. It takes a lot of time to do research and prepare a thesis. And two years is hardly enough to research let alone prepare a thesis. Even taught PhD's in Europe it does take a while. Tell me a university in the US that offers a two year PhD, since you seem to know something that i don't.
I am not trying to be a party pooper here. I am just saying something is not quite right.
She may not be a big issue.
What is the length of the PhD? Seems to have taken below 2 years which leaves the big question about the rigor of PhD programs in the country. Matiangi could have taken this issue .
Congratulations!!! This is a Sign that she did NOT Cheat to Pass with 235 Marks in the first place.