TUT academic appointed to HPCSA Professional Board

Dr Takalani Clearance Muluvhu, from TUT’s Faculty of Science’s has been appointed to the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s Professional Board for Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Biokinetics.

Dr Muluvhu This appointment recognises Dr Muluvhu’s significant academic, professional and leadership contributions to the discipline of Biokinetics and to health sciences education. The Professional Board is constituted in terms of Regulation No. R.1246 of 28 November 2008 and comprises fourteen members who are entrusted with the responsibility of regulating professional standards, protecting the public and advancing quality and equitable healthcare services. The current Board will hold office until November 2030 and is responsible for establishing committees, appointing chairpersons and determining their composition, quorum and terms of reference in line with regulatory requirements.

Reflecting on the Board’s mandate, Dr Muluvhu emphasised its strategic importance in strengthening healthcare practice and professional standards nationally. He said that the vision of the Board is to be “a recognised regulator that promotes quality and equitable healthcare in Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Biokinetics services”.

He added that the Board’s mission is to promote the rendering of evidence-based healthcare to the population, to set contextually relevant training and practice standards, to ensure compliance with national and international best practices, to uphold ethical and professional conduct, to foster ongoing professional development and competence, to protect the public in matters involving the rendering of health services and to advocate for safe and healthy working environments.

Dr Muluvhu’s appointment puts him in a key position to contribute meaningfully to these national imperatives.

Dr Muluvhu holds a BSc and MSc in Biokinetics (Cum Laude) and a PhD in Human Movement Sciences from North-West University, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Teaching from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland.

He currently also serves as Chairperson of the Departmental Committee for Postgraduate Studies and as Vice Chairperson of the Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Biokinetics Board. He is a registered Biokineticist and a respected academic in the Department of Human Movement and Therapeutic Sciences within the Faculty of Science.

This appointment aligns strongly with Tshwane University of Technology’s Institutional Strategic Plan (ISP) 2026–2035, particularly the strategic objectives focused on strengthening professional relevance, advancing engaged scholarship and increasing the University’s societal impact through high-quality, responsive education and research. Dr Muluvhu’s participation in a national regulatory body enhances the Faculty’s contribution to shaping standards of professional practice and supports the ISP’s commitment to ethical leadership, evidence-based practice and continuous professional development.

Commenting on the appointment, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Ntebogeng Mokgalaka-Fleischmann, said that Dr Muluvhu’s achievement reflects personal excellence and the growing stature of the Faculty within the national health sciences landscape. She added that his appointment demonstrates the Faculty’s commitment to producing leaders who influence policy, professional standards and healthcare transformation in South Africa and that it strongly supports the University’s ISP goal of building academic leadership that contributes to national development priorities.