Sibusiso Bengu — Special Official Funeral declared for SA’s first democratic-era education minister amid flood of tributes

6 Jan 2025

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the first minister of education in a democratic South Africa, Sibusiso Bengu, will be honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 2. Tributes from across the country continue to pour in, celebrating Bengu’s transformative impact on South Africa’s education system and his significant role in the liberation movement.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that former education minister Sibusiso Bengu will be honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 2, the Presidency said on Monday.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that Bengu, who died on 30 December at the age of 90, will be laid to rest in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The funeral will be held at the University of Zululand on Friday, 10 January, with proceedings including ceremonial elements rendered by the South African Police Service.

“President Ramaphosa has directed that the National Flag be flown at half mast at flag stations around the country from tomorrow morning, Tuesday, 7 January, until the evening of the funeral,” Magwenya said.

From classroom to national leadership

Born in Kranskop, Natal, Bengu began his teaching career in 1952 and went on to establish Dlangezwa High School in 1969, where he served as principal until 1976. He later became dean of students at the University of Zululand before leaving South Africa in 1978. His academic accomplishments included a PhD in political science from the University of Geneva, and in 1991 he made history as the first black vice-chancellor of Fort Hare University – a transformative moment in South African higher education.

Although his first political home was the Inkatha Freedom Party, where he served as secretary-general, ideological differences with the late IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi ultimately led to his departure. He later aligned himself with the ANC.

He was the first to tackle the immense challenge of transforming the education system into one that is inclusive. His work remains a cornerstone.

In 1994, President Nelson Mandela appointed Bengu as South Africa’s first minister of education in the democratic era. He played a key role in merging 17 fragmented education departments into a unified system and implemented controversial early reforms to South Africa’s education policy, including a nationwide initiative to redeploy teachers and a transition to outcome-based education through Curriculum 2005, with the aim of overhauling the education system. However, it faced significant backlash, with teachers and opposition parties voicing strong criticism, prompting a review of the plan.

After the 1999 election he served as ambassador to Germany until 2003, when he retired.

Pioneering leader

Tributes continue to pour in for Bengu. Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube expressed her condolences: “On behalf of the sector and the Department of Basic Education, I extend our deepest sympathies to Professor Bengu’s family, friends and former colleagues.

“We honour the professor for his invaluable contribution to the education sector. He was the first to tackle the immense challenge of transforming the education system into one that is inclusive. His work remains a cornerstone, and we will always remember the foundation he laid for the ongoing efforts we continue today.”

Last week, Ramaphosa praised Bengu as a pioneering leader in South Africa’s democratic era and administration.

“Today we are grateful for Prof Bengu’s diverse contributions to our development, which will light our way forward. We reflect as well on his life of faith which inspired his commitment to restoring the dignity of all South Africans. May his soul rest in peace.”

In expressing his sadness at Bengu’s death, Ramaphosa emphasised the crucial role he played in guiding the transformation of education within the democratic government of national unity, at a time when significant divisions existed over the pace and scope of this transformation.

A great number of the progressive policies that govern higher education today were introduced under the leadership of Prof Bengu and on the back of massive and progressive grassroots struggles.

“Under apartheid, the injustice of unequal education had been at the core of consigning most citizens to intergenerational economic exclusion, poverty and indignity,” he said.

Veli Mbele, spokesperson for the minister of science, technology and innovation, expressed deep sadness at the news of Bengu’s death. He recalled first meeting Bengu at an education summit in the early Nineties, during his involvement in the student movement. Over time, he had the opportunity to interact with him on several occasions at similar meetings.

“In our interactions, I experienced him as a very calm and deeply thoughtful individual – qualities as a leader which made him very accessible and receptive to the ideas of the student leaders.Whilst he did not always agree with our views, these qualities are critical for effective leadership in higher education today,” he said.

Mbele said Bengu laid the foundational policies for the country’s education system in the democratic era and led this transformative process by engaging consultatively with the student movement.

“In fact, a great number of the progressive policies that govern higher education today were introduced under the leadership of Prof Bengu and on the back of massive and progressive grassroots struggles that pushed for progressive change in the 1980s to 1990s,” he said.

Reflecting on Bengu’s contributions, Mbele emphasised that, for activists, policymakers and progressive organisations, his death should serve as a catalyst for renewed and collective focus on the unresolved challenges still facing the transformation of the country’s education system.

Legacy of transforming the education system

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande praised Bengu for his significant contributions as vice-chancellor of Fort Hare University and his leadership in dismantling the apartheid-era education system.

As a member of Mandela’s Cabinet, Bengu had played a central role in introducing several key laws that helped shape the policy and institutional framework of South Africa’s schooling and post-school sectors in the years following the collapse of apartheid.

Nzimande also highlighted Bengu’s crucial role in facilitating the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the policy recommendations from the National Commission on Higher Education, which guided the government’s efforts to reconstruct and transform the higher education system, previously shaped by apartheid.

Our country has lost not only one of its most committed educationists, but also a model public servant and patriot.

Furthermore, he commended Bengu for his role in the transition from the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa to the current National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Nzimande said Bengu was one of the key individuals who directly contributed to his personal progress. He recalled how, in 1977, as dean of students at the University of Zululand, Bengu intervened to prevent him from dropping out by arranging a student loan to cover the R100 required to settle his outstanding fees.

“In Prof Bengu our country has lost not only one of its most committed educationists, but also a model public servant and patriot, who even when his own health was waning, continued to serve his country and people with dignity and integrity. It is therefore no exaggeration to declare that Prof Bengu was one of those who laid the basis for our democracy,” Nzimande said.

The University of Fort Hare said Bengu made pivotal contributions as a leader, scholar and advocate for higher education, along with his unwavering dedication to preserving the history, memory and identity of Black liberation in South Africa and throughout the African continent.

“At the University of Fort Hare (UFH), Professor Bengu played a pivotal role in stabilising the institution during the 1990s. He laid the foundation for the university’s transition to democracy, enhancing academic standards, establishing its academic reputation, and securing vital funding from international organisations and donors. His leadership ensured the university’s survival and growth as a prominent centre of African intellectualism.”

Bengu’s legacy was particularly embodied in the National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre (Nahecs) at UFH, where his impact continued to resonate. It had been through his leadership that a memorandum of understanding was signed in 1992 by several leaders of Black liberation movements, designating UFH the custodian of the Liberation Movement Archives, now preserved at Nahecs.

“The university remembers Professor Bengu not only as one of the key architects of renewal at UFH, but also as a trailblazer in South African higher education and a pioneer in the preservation of Black history,” said Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, vice-chancellor and principal of UFH.

Buhlungu said the university will, in due course, announce the appropriate actions and initiatives to honour and commemorate Bengu’s lasting memory and contributions to the institution, the country and the continent.

Bengu is survived by his wife, Funeka, four daughters and a son. DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

From classroom to national leadership

Pioneering leader

Legacy of transforming the education system