Manamela Pays Tribute to Education Pioneer Jennifer Glennie: A Life Dedicated to Access and Equity in Learning
– Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has shared his deep sorrow over the death of Jennifer Glennie, the founding Executive Director of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) and a true trailblazer in making education reachable for all. In a touching statement on Thursday, Manamela called her passing a big blow to South Africa’s learning community, praising her endless drive to open doors for those left behind. Glennie’s work, from fighting apartheid’s unfair systems to shaping today’s open learning tools, touched countless lives and set the stage for a fairer education landscape.
Her legacy lives on in projects that helped poor and far-off communities get quality teaching through new ways like online resources. As tributes pour in from schools and leaders, her story reminds us how one person’s passion can change a whole country’s future, inspiring young learners to dream big despite tough starts.
A Visionary Who Broke Barriers: Glennie’s Early Days and SAIDE’s Birth
Jennifer Glennie, born in the 1950s and trained at the University of the Witwatersrand, started her path in adult education during the dark days of apartheid. She saw how the system shut out black South Africans from good schooling and set out to fix that. In 1992, she helped start SAIDE, a group focused on distance learning – ways to study without being in a classroom every day.
Under her lead, SAIDE grew into a key player, creating materials that fit local needs and supporting students from afar. She pushed for activity-based learning, where people learn by doing, not just reading. This helped thousands who could not go to full-time schools because of work, family or distance.
Manamela captured her spirit: “a visionary leader whose lifelong passion for education, particularly in distance learning, has left an indelible mark”. From the 1980s, she worked on programmes that reached workers and rural folk, using radio and printed guides before the internet took off.
Key Roles in Building South Africa’s Education System
Glennie did not stop at SAIDE. She played a big part in setting up the Council on Higher Education in the late 1990s, a body that checks quality in colleges and universities. For two decades, she sat on the Council of the University of South Africa (Unisa), the world’s biggest distance learning school, helping shape policies for over 400,000 students.
She also helped found Sol Plaatje University in the Northern Cape in 2013, serving as chairperson of its interim council and later as deputy chairperson until 2022. There, she chaired key committees on audits and risks, ensuring the new school started strong. Sol Plaatje’s Council Chairperson, Professor Randall Carolissen, remembered her as “a remarkable leader who devoted her life to expanding access to quality education at all levels for marginalised communities in South Africa.”
On the world stage, Glennie spoke for South Africa at the Commonwealth of Learning, pushing for shared knowledge across countries. Her efforts earned awards, like a UNESCO prize in 2012 for SAIDE’s work in literacy through open resources.
Champion of Tech and Open Resources: Making Learning Free for the Needy
Glennie was ahead of her time in using tech for teaching. She led pushes for Open Educational Resources (OER) – free online materials anyone can use and share. Through OER Africa, a SAIDE project, she helped create tools for teachers and students in poor areas, covering subjects from maths to health.
Manamela noted her as “a recognised advocate for technology enabled learning”, who fought to give chances to those on the edges. In a time when internet was new, she saw its power to reach remote spots, helping kids in townships study without fancy schools.
Her work tackled inequality head-on, focusing on Africans shut out by apartheid. By making resources open, she cut costs for families and opened doors for women and rural youth.
Tributes and Legacy: Inspiring a Fairer Future
Manamela’s words summed up her impact: “The higher education sector would not be what it is today without the dedication of pioneers like Jennifer Glennie. Her deep love for the people of this country and her abhorrence for injustice touched and improved many lives. Her role in expanding access to higher education for Africans and her legacy will continue to inspire us.”
He sent warm thoughts to her family, friends, workmates and the whole education world. Carolissen echoed this, praising her “impeccable governance culture” at Sol Plaatje.
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