Edwin Coleman: First class graduate rejected by Ghana Law School succeeds
- Theophilus Edwin Coleman has become a shining example of the quote "make lemonade out of the lemons life throws at you"
- After he was rejected entrance into the Ghana School of Law, he resolved to still become a lawyer
- Now, he is a full-fledged doctor of law and has shared his touching story with the rest of the world
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Theophilus Edwin Coleman has shattered the glass ceiling of rejection and has passed out as a doctor of law after he was rejected by the Ghana School of Law.
In a report sighted by Legit.ng on myjoyonline.com, Coleman was among many students who failed to enter the School of Law after taking an entrance exam and attending an interview.
Prior to his fate, he had graduated with a first-class degree in law from the University of Cape Coast after he studied political science and information studies at the University of Ghana.
Source: UGC
He is reported to have said:
“I completed UCC Law School in 2016 with a CGPA of 3.83. It came as a surprise that I failed the exam - and many of my classmates were also surprised. I don’t think I underestimated the exam, so I really don’t know what happened."
He added that he even got the opportunity to prepare most of his classmates that made it to Makola so he was still at a loss as to why he did not pass.
Dr Coleman said he felt quite disappointed because he knew even though the outcome was not pleasant, he still could do very little to salvage the situation.
He added that the rejection came to him more as a disappointment rather than a painful experience.
Following the rejection, Dr Coleman turned his attention to pursuing a higher degree and got into the University of Johannesburg where he graduated with a first-class in International Commercial Law (LLM).
He then went a step further to pursue his LLD which focused on the theoretical foundations and the practical perspectives of the concept of contractual freedom and autonomy in Commonwealth Africa.
Edwin is an alumnus of The Hague Academy of International Law in The Netherlands. He has also completed an internship program at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).
In furtherance of his LL D studies, Edwin was invited to serve as a Research Fellow at the Institute of European Law in Germany.
In 2018, he received an award from the Ghana National Students’ Awards Scheme as one of the Six Most Influential Student Personality in Ghana (home and abroad).
His LLD explored the degree to which commonwealth African countries ascribe respect to the notion of contractual liberty by taking into account the politico-economic orientations of governments, pronouncements by courts, constitutional underpinnings, and the impact of traditional African values such as Ubuntu on contract and commercial law jurisprudence in Commonwealth Africa.
The thesis also develops a matrix for assessing the degree of respect and commitment to contractual freedom and autonomy in Commonwealth Africa.
He said:
“My plan is to return to Ghana and fully enter into academia. For now however, I serving as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law at the University of Johannesburg.
“I do not see myself going to Ghana law school anytime soon. There are so many problems with legal education that has to be resolved. One of them is the lack of academics. The number of doctorate holders in law can be counted couldn’t even get to 60. The average currently is around 42. So there is a real problem...."
The journey has been tough but Dr. Coleman is simply glad and grateful.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Hallowed Olaoluwa, a 30-year-old Nigerian, is one of Africa’s youngest doctor of mathematics and a professor.
He got his bachelor's degree at the age of 14, double bachelor's degree at 17 before he went ahead to get his masters in mathematics and physics at 19.
How I graduated with a 6.0 CGPA - University of Ibadan best Geology student | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
Joseph Omotayo (HOD Human-Interest) Joseph Omotayo has been writing for the human interest desk since 2019 and is currently the head of the desk. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with a degree in Literature in English in 2016. He once worked for Afridiaspora, OlisaTV & CLR. He is a 2022/2023 Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking fellow. He can be reached via: joseph.omotayo@corp.legit.ng.
Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com
