The Shadow Scholars

In Kenya, Professor Patricia Kingori – the youngest woman and Black professor in Oxford history, and our guide through this academic underworld – meets people like Mercy, a single mother who writes university essays for international clients. She’s one of an estimated 40,000 Kenyans doing such work: highly educated but under-employed, with livelihoods threatened by advancing AI. This fascinating doc hits close to home: Australia is one of the biggest markets for these services, and was the first to ban them. Executive-produced by Steve McQueen, Eloïse King's debut raises a crucial question: if the wealthy can buy their degrees while “shadow scholars” struggle to find opportunities, what is the true value of education?

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