A Durban University of Technology (DUT) lecturer in the Department of Entrepreneurial Studies and Management, Mr Mthokozisi Luthuli will be obtaining his PhD: Specialising in Public Administration at the 2024 DUT Autumn Graduation to be held at the Fred Crookes Sport Centre, Steve Biko campus on Monday, 27 May 2024.

Luthuli (37) from Umlazi wishes his late mother was still alive to see him gracing the graduation stage with his red gown. However, he indicated that he is certain that his mother is very proud of him for making it against all odds.

“I grew up as an orphan from the age of 16-years-old, with my eight-year-old sister. I lived in a shack and each time it rained it kept falling apart. I had to work as a garden boy to put food on the table and raise my younger sister as we had no relatives who were willing to take us in and look after us, after our mother passed away. I am sharing my story to serve as a motivation for students in a similar situation that I was in, to say it’s doable and its possible. Their success will be even sweeter because of the struggles they have endured in life,” shared Luthuli.

To aspiring academics, Luthuli said they should never doubt themselves and should develop a thick skin to receive constructive feedback. He joined DUT in 2011 when he enrolled for his Bachelor of Technology in Public Administration. He obtained his Master of Management Sciences: Specialising in Public Administration in 2020, and graduated virtually at DUT. A few months after obtaining his Master’s degree he registered for his PhD: Specialising in Public Administration, which he completed in February 2024.

In 2016, DUT offered him a position of a full-time academic secretary in the Department of Ecotourism. Luthuli then worked his way up to the current position, full-time lecturer as of 01 July 2022.

His thesis is titled: Improving the Administration of Disability Grants in South Africa’s Social Security Agency.

“What sparked my study interest was reading about the disheartening stories of persons living with disability who are grantees. They face an uphill battle of having to live with the disability challenges yet their voices are not heard by the South African government and sometimes the general society. As a person who grew up struggling myself and therefore I understand poverty in a much more different way. I embarked on a study that was going to be a voice of reasoning for the vulnerable people who could not do that for themselves.

Speaking about finding a balance between his work and PhD studies, Luthuli said it was tough. At the time, he embarked on his PhD journey, he was a secretary and had to travel between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on a daily basis. Coming home from work, he had to seat in front of a laptop for hours, working on his thesis, reading volumes of literature. He indicated that he had to give up the things that he loved dearly such as family, friends and fun. Luthuli stated that he made a choice to get married to his thesis, and he had to stick with it day and night, including weekends, for better or worse. He had to do it for his late mother, who always encouraged him to further his studies.

During his data collection stage, Luthuli shared that his supervisor Prof Hlengwa donated R60 000 from her research funds to his department to find a replacement for him in order to be granted leave to focus on his studies. Three months into his study leave, Luthuli stated that was appointed as a lecturer and had to cut his leave short to resume his new duties.

“I faced psycological fears, the fear of the unknown about the PhD, not being sure if I am PhD material and not wanting to mess this opportunity up! I had to reach out to as many Doctors and Professors I know and I always had research related conversations with them which helped me a lot and sort of gave me a perspective and assurance that I’ve got this. Over and above that, I was so privileged to have seized an opportunity to be a doctoral fellowship for the NIHSS programme which is a dynamic platform that I wish for every PhD student in terms of crafting a resounding doctoral scholar,” shared Luthuli.

He confessed that at first when he enrolled for a Diploma in Public Administration, he did not even know what it was about, he sort of undermined the course. However, by the time he got to the PhD level, he got to embrace his field of study. His desire is to become a senior lecturer and become a reputable scholar in the field of Public Administration.

Pictured: DUT lecturer, Mthokozisi Luthuli.

Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.

Simangele Zuma