FORMER first education minister Professor Sibusiso Bhengu has died aged 90.
According to a statement released by the family, Bhengu died in his sleep on Monday, 30 December, at his Mtunzini home in KZN.
"Professor Sibusiso Mandlenkosi Emmanuel Bengu died peacefully at home, in his sleep," Dr Sthembiso Bhengu said in a statement.
"We'll fondly remember him as a dear husband, dad, uncle, granddad, an educator, a former minister of education and ambassador among others," he said.
Bengu said funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course.
The family has requested that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.
The professor was born in Kranskop in KZN and became a teacher in 1952. He founded the Dlangezwa High School near Empangeni in 1969 and was a principal until 1976.
He completed a PhD in political sciences at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva in 1974, and in 1977 he was appointed as a professor at the University of Zululand.
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has paid tribute to Professor Bhengu.
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"It's with profound sadness and a deep sense of loss that we join the nation in mourning Professor Sibusiso Bhengu's passing, South Africa's first minister of education and a towering figure in our country's journey towards equality and transformation in education," Makaneta said.
He said Professor Bhengu will forever be remembered for his unwavering commitment to dismantling the injustices of apartheid education and laying groundwork for a system rooted in inclusivity, accessibility, and equality.
"Appointed as the inaugural minister of education in 1994, under former president Nelson Mandela's leadership, he played a historic role in redefining the education policy during one of South Africa's most critical periods of transformation.
"With humility, wisdom, and determination, Professor Bhengu championed reform that prioritised the needs of all pupils, regardless of their background," he said.
His vision was anchored in the belief that education is the cornerstone of a democratic society and a powerful tool for nation-building.
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