75-year-old woman obtains Master’s degree from South African university and seeks to pursue PhD

Notozi Jennifer Mgobozi, a 75-year-old grandmother with great resolve, has fulfilled her lifelong ambition of completing her education by obtaining a Master’s degree from Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Notozi Jennifer Mgobozi, holder of a Bacelor’s degree obtained in the 1960s, reported that her brother-in-law, Philip Saluva, advised her to become a teacher. Once she had gotten her Bachelor’s degree, her passion for teaching has done nothing but grow.

Having obtained her degree from the Tshiya College of Education, Jennifer Mgobozi enrolled in several Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that work within the field of Education. She has a tremendous passion for language teaching as she speaks more than four languages.

Having worked for many years, she set out to progress in her education in 2016 and joined a Master’s program in Education at Walter Sisulu University. “I worked with ladies in Mthatha who had their families with them. After work they would go home to their families while I was lonely [by this stage she was divorced]“.

“I thought why should feel lonely when I can focus on getting an education. I thought here is a university next to me and it is within a walking distance so why don’t I go and register?” She also added that her family questioned her desire to keep studying. However, they did not discourage her.

She began working on her dissertation two years after she had enrolled at the university. “The first challenge was working on it while also juggling my job. From 8 am to 4:30 pm I would be at work, however, my hours were flexible.” she narrated, adding that she had to set meetings with her supervisor, Dr Ntshanga Nqabeni, in the afternoons since she had to work in the mornings.

She also mentioned that it was not very difficult for her to adapt to the academic environment thanks to her experience in education as she had worked with schools in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape of South Africa.

She was very grateful for the continued support of her family and her supervisor. She described the latter as a very patient person. She said that her family was very proud of her. Although they felt some discomfort, as they had not studied at a higher level, they understood that she had different ambitions.
Jennifer Mgobozi revealed that although she is 75 years old, she couldn’t be more excited to pursue her Doctorate (PhD) degree. She underlined the importance of education and that if someone wants to study, they should set realistic goals. Once those goals are set, one will work very hard towards achieving them.