On Wednesday, 15 April 2015, the Faculty of Education conferred an honorary doctorate degree on Prof Jan de Groof from Antwerp in Belgium.

Prof Jan de Groof is a world leader in many aspects of education and of law – most notably the right to education, minority issues and the role of the higher education sector in the welfare and development of countries. He is also a world expert in education and religion, good governance in the civil service and in higher education institutions, the economics of education, education and values, and human rights in education.

He has published 77 books as sole author or editor, 99 chapters in books and 94 articles. He publishes in English, Dutch, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

At present he is professor at the College of Europe (Bruges) and the University of Tilburg (the Netherlands). He has been professor or visiting professor at numerous universities including Ghent, British Columbia, Leuven, the School of Economics (Brussels), Hanyang (Korea), Tokyo, Padova, Higher Institute for Public Administration (Antwerp) for Seton Hall, Malaya, Salvador-Bahia, Bejing Normal University, Lisbon, Boston, Pretoria and the South East European University. At the moment he is involved in establishing a university sector in Iraq.

Prof Jan de Groof was the chairperson of the first and second World Conferences on Global Justice and Education (held in Amsterdam and The Hague in 2004, and in Brussels in 2012. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the European Journal for Education Law and Policy, the International Journal for Education Law and Policy and the Flemish Journal for Education Law and Policy. He has served as consultant to the EU, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, UNECSO, the World Bank, the High Commissioner for Minorities, the Council of Europe, the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the African Union. He was chairman of the International Research Committee of Legal Experts that advised the Russian Government on the dating of legislation. Prof De Groof founded and is still the President of the European Education Law Association.

He is also the founder and the chairman of the Interuniversity Centre for Education Law and Policy at the University of Antwerp.

Between 2006 and 2010 he was the UNESCO Chargé de Mission to the Assistant Director-General for the Education.

The University of Pretoria conferred the honorary doctorate on Prof Jan de Groof in recognition of his expansive work in education and law. He is regarded as one of the most influential role players in education law of the late 20th and the early 21st centuries and is a tireless campaigner for justice and good governance in education.

The University of Pretoria also conferred 400 BEd degrees on Education students; 40 BEd honours degrees and 16 BEd master’s degrees.  Sarah Claire Zunkel was awarded with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal Award. The award consists of the silver medal as well as a cash prize and a certificate. She was awarded for outstanding undergraduate achievement during all the undergraduate years of study for any first bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Education.

Seven PHD degrees were conferred.  Dr Nomalanga Essilfie did her PhD with the thesis ‘Enhancing employability of graduates from Higher Education Institutions in Botswana: a case study of Environmental Science’. Prof Sarah Howie was her supervisor.

Dr Elizabeth Garira did her PhD with the thesis ‘The development of a school self-evaluation framework for classroom quality in Zimbabwean primary schools’ . Prof Sarah Howie was her supervisor.

Dr Matala Kgwete did his PhD with the thesis ‘Understanding School Leadership: a study of the ACE School Leadership programme and leadership practices’. He did it under the supervision of Dr Keshni Bipath.

Dr Pardikor Madjitey did her PhD with the thesis ‘The socio-educational development of children of street vendors in Ghana’. Dr Miems Steyn was her supervisor.

Dr Nicholus Mollo did his PhD with the thesis ‘Education managers' understanding and implementation of due process during learner discipline’. Dr Rika Joubert was his supervisor.

Dr Bishum Parag did his PhD with the thesis ‘Leadership practices of principals of successful primary schools’ with Dr Rika Joubert was his supervisor.

Dr Gomotsegang Pule did her PhD with the thesis ‘Perceptions of stakeholders about quality assurance in higher education in Botswana’. Dr Pieter du Toit was her supervisor.

Dr Melese Woldeyes did his PhD with the thesis ‘Access to quality postgraduate education through distance education in Ethiopia’ with Prof Chika Sehoole as his supervisor.

View the April 2015 graduation ceremony photo gallery.