| On 5 years ago

Gordhan successfully completed a bachelor of pharmacy degree, says UKZN

By Citizen Reporter

The University of KwaZulu-Natal has finally laid to rest the discussion around Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan’s qualifications.

Previously the country’s finance minister, Gordhan’s qualifications have recently been questioned by his critics, some of whom have claimed they had never seen a record of his qualifications anywhere.

On social media, some have gone as far as to say he never qualified or that his degree was only a diploma.

These allegations have resurfaced in the wake of allegations that former Sars boss Ivan Pillay apparently only had a matric certificate, which was substantiated by the public protector.

While the National Assembly mentioned that the minister “completed a DTech degree in Business Administration at the Free State Central University of Technology in 2009 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from Unisa and an Honorary Doctorate of Law from UCT in 2007 respectively,” it never mentioned anything about his pharmacy qualification, and this raised a few eyebrows.

Now UKZN has responded to the questions. In a statement, the university said: “The office of the registrar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal confirms that Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan studied and successfully completed the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1973. In addition, he recived an Honorary Doctorate in 2003 and the Convocation Award in 2013 from UKZN.”