Nadia Khan [email protected]
PROFESSOR Yusuf Karodia, the founder of MANCOSA and Regent Business School, has been hailed for his contribution to education.
Karodia, 70, of Durban, died in hospital on December 23. According to a statement issued by the board of the Yusuf Karodia Foundation, he spent three weeks in the high-care unit.
“It is indeed a very significant loss for the community and country since Professor Karodia was a beacon of hope for the previously disadvantaged, the less fortunate, and those who were part of his various initiatives.”
The statement said Karodia’s unreserved lifetime commitment to the advancement of the quality of life of ordinary people served as a catalyst to increase the foundation’s efforts towards realising his intentions and goals.
“We commit to upholding Prof Karodia’s intentions with the utmost diligence, fortitude and purpose. We will always be reminded of Prof Karodia’s words of advice and will hold on dearly to them to guide the foundation forward.
“Speak truth to power, find your love for people, act now, be brave with no fear, be appreciative of what you have are his words which epitomises his existence and as such will guide the board in their endeavours.”
It added that Karodia’s son, Mahomed, who is also a board member, said their family would continue to advance Karodia’s work.
Karodia spent the past four decades pursuing new avenues to make quality education accessible to more people in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, he immersed himself in philanthropic work in the education sector among disadvantaged communities through the foundation.
This included launching the Million Books Project, which aimed to provide more than a million books to pupils in South Africa via mobile libraries.
In March last year, Karodia received the African Leadership Person of the Year Award for education and development for a second consecutive year.
Professor Dhiru Soni, the director of research and innovation at Regent Business School, said: “He was a man for all seasons and someone that showed the same respect for each person no matter their status.
“His adage was ‘we are at the Regent Business School or MANCOSA not because of professional status but because of the students, and we should never forget that’.
“Students were always his central focus, and he wanted to ensure that education was accessible and affordable. It is difficult to find people who are transformative leaders as he was.”
MANCOSA and the Honoris United Universities, of which Karodia was a founding partner, said in a statement that it had lost a visionary, philanthropist and educational stalwart.
“Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Professor Karodia have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.
“Professor Karodia leaves behind an educational legacy that only he could have built as it was inspired by his own experiences in apartheid South Africa, and to that effect, he wanted to create educational access for the underserved.
“His spirit will forever be the bedrock of MANCOSA’s philosophy of accessibility, affordability, and accreditation for the people of Southern Africa.
“No words can adequately express our sadness at Professor Karodia’s passing or our immense gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside him.
“We will look to honour his memory and vision by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much and the country he dedicated his life to.”
Karodia was buried at the Riverside Muslim Cemetery on December 23. He is survived by his wife, Zulaka, two children, Ayesha and Mahomed and six grandchildren.
