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Minister of Higher Education and Training - Dr Bonginkose Emmanuel (Blade) Nzimande

Minister of Higher Education & Training
Dr. Bonginkose Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande

Dr Bonginkosi Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande was appointed as Minister of Higher Education and Training in the Republic of South Africa on May 11 2009.

Born in Pietermaritzburg in 1958, he obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy, specialising in Sociology, from the University of Natal.

Relevant experience

Dr. Nzimande lectured at the University of Zululand and later at the University of Natal. He has served as a Council member at the University of South Africa (UNISA), the University of Transkei and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Centre for Educational Policy Development, Chairman at the ANC Parliamentary Study Group on Education and in his current position as Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education.

Dr. Nzimande has published a number of works covering the impact of violence and civil society on schooling in the KwaZulu-Natal region.

Active role in South Africa

Dr. Nzimande is the General-Secretary of the South African Communist Party and currently serves as the Chairman of the Financial Sector Campaign Coalition (FSCC) and Deputy Chair of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party.

He is a member of Parliament at National Assembly level.

Dr. Nzimande played an active role establishing a democratic South Africa as a member of the National Deployment Committee of the ANC.