Johannesburg: The Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande, has joined the nation in mourning the passing of Dr Jennifer Anne Glennie. Glennie passed away in a car accident on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, at the age of 75. She was born in Johannesburg and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a first-class Honours degree in pure mathematics in 1971.
According to South African Government News Agency, Nzimande, Glennie, who trained as a mathematician, was not only a distinguished and lifelong progressive educationalist but also a tireless advocate for social justice. The Minister praised the late mathematician for her immeasurable contribution to ensuring equal access to education for all and to the transformation of society.
At the height of the anti-apartheid struggle, Glennie initiated and participated in the formation of a number of progressive education initiatives and projects. Through Khanya College, popularly known as the 'people's college', she contributed to empowering black young people from marginalised communities and preparing them for university education.
According to the Minister, Glennie's intervention laid the basis for future policy thinking on the transformative power of people's education and deeply informed the formation of the National Education Crisis Committee (NECC) in 1986 and its declaration for a radically new people's education system.
In later years, as the founding Director of the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE), she championed innovative and inclusive solutions, including the African Storybook initiative, which promotes home-language literacy for African children. Her roles as a member of the Council for Higher Education (CHE), Council and Broad Transformation Forum Member at the University of South Africa (UNISA), and Council Member at Sol Plaatje University, saw her make a significant contribution to shaping and strengthening higher education policy and governance in South Africa.
Owing to her lifelong commitment to educational development and social justice, Glennie received numerous prestigious national and international honours. These include being appointed as a Fellow of the International Commonwealth of Learning, the Chancellor's Medal from the University of Pretoria for her contribution to education, and the African Council for Distance Education Legacy Service Award for her exceptional contribution to the field of open distance and e-learning.
Nzimande highlighted her work in the field of education, which contributed to significant advances in related areas such as reading for meaning, technology for education, mother tongue-education, and decolonisation. Her indefatigable and visionary educational activism over five decades intersected with various grassroots interventions implemented by the liberation movement during apartheid, under the vision of 'A People's Education for People's Power.'
Nzimande believes that the totality of Glennie's work contributed to a much larger goal of building South Africa into a country where all its citizens can realise their potential, regardless of their race, gender, class, religion, or area of residence. He noted that her passing constitutes an incalculable loss to the country's education and science fraternity.
Those who worked with Glennie will remember her as an irrepressible activist and ethical public servant, dedicated to building a humane and just country and world.