Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen is going back to school.
Steenhuisen has often come under criticism for only having matric as his highest qualification.
He has been in politics since 2000 and was elected to the Port Elizabeth City Council in 2013.
With many politicians having tertiary qualifications, Steenhuisen has enrolled at the University of South Africa (Unisa) to bolster his academic qualifications.
Steenhuisen visited Professor Puleng LenkaBula, the vice-chancellor of Unisa following his decision to study further.
The agriculture minister said Unisa provides him the flexibility to work and study allowing him to continue with his qualification.
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Steenhuisen’s areas of interest include management, public policy, governance, and change management, which he plans to focus on for further upskilling.
Lenkabula said: “In addition to his prospects of studying with Unisa, Steenhuisen’s visit was to expound on how universities work with the public and private sectors, and communities in enhancing the benefits of agriculture in our country and our world.”
South Africa, under the new government of national unity (GNU), now has a larger cabinet, with ministers’ educational qualifications ranging from matric to PhD.
African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa holds a law degree from Unisa.
According to the presidency’s website, “Ramaphosa has also received several honorary doctorates from local and international universities, including the University of Massachusetts, the University of Cape Town, the National University of Lesotho, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and the University of the North.”
The DA’s Ivan Meyer, obtained a PhD in Public Administration at the University of Stellenbosch, as well as a number of international certificates and diplomas, while Siviwe Gwarube, the current minister of Basic Education, possesses a BA degree in Law, Politics, and Philosophy from Rhodes University.
Gwarube also obtained her honours in Political Science and Government at the University of the Western Cape.
Politicians not in the GNU also hold several tertiary qualifications.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting which he obtained from Unisa.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema completed a two-year diploma in youth development through Unisa. He also obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Communications and African languages at Unisa. He also has a BA Honours degree in Philosophy.
Former EFF deputy president and now MK party member Floyd Shivambu earned a bachelor’s degree as well as an honours degree in Political Studies and International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits).
Shivambu also acquired a Master’s degree in Political Sciences at Wits.
Additional reporting by Enkosi Selane
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