The Gmail address that cost my cousin her UK teaching job

My cousin Funke trained as a teacher in Ibadan, taught for eight years, then got the shock of her life when the UK qualification body rejected her application. Reason? She submitted her documents using a Gmail address. That was all. Not her certificate, not her experience, just the email she used to apply.

I sat with her in my Peckham kitchen when she got the letter and she just kept asking me, 'Bose, is it because I no get company email?' Eight years of teaching children, wiped out because of a free email service. Meanwhile the same body approves people from other countries who use the same Gmail. So what exactly is the standard here?

I have helped fourteen family members navigate this system and I am telling you now, the rules are not the same for everyone. They will find any small thing to disqualify you. My advice to anyone applying: get a proper domain email, pay for it if you have to. It sounds small but it can cost you your whole future. How many of our people are being quietly rejected for things that have nothing to do with their ability?