I refer to the article, “College of Cape Town students protest over alleged shortage of lecturers” (Cape Argus, February 20) in which the acting campus manager of City Campus claimed there was no shortage of lecturers.
The recent protest at College of Cape Town City Campus began on February 9 and was caused by an attempt to reduce the college’s wage bill. Lecturers who hold “governing body posts” (posts the college funds out of its own pocket) are frequently appointed in mid-February (sometimes later) instead of at the beginning of the semester.
This saves the college money, but results in some classes not having lecturers for the first few weeks of the semester. Last year’s shortage of lecturers was reported on by the in April last year.
However, the shortage of lecturers at City Campus had ended by the time Cape Argus reported on the protest, thanks to the appointment of two additional lecturers on February 12 and another on February 15. At that point, students were lobbying for the reinstatement of a highly regarded lecturer, Mr Fidelis Mauye, who had worked for the college for 11 years on fixed-term contracts, while also teaching part-time under me in the amended senior certificate for adults programme.
Unfortunately, the college failed – for reasons that are still unclear
– to pay the part-time lecturers for the hours taught during the first semester of last year, resulting in Mr Mauye complaining to the Education Labour Relations Council (yet to hear the matter). Many people, including me, believe that standing up to the college over his part-time job cost Mr Mauye his full-time job.
In a related matter, 12 City Campus lecturers appointed on January 15 of this year were paid pro-rata for the month of January. Several days later they sent head office a petition in which they pointed out, among others, that they had in previous years received a full month’s salary at the end of January.
The college duly backed down and paid the lecturers the money owed to them, resulting in lecturers on contracts at its other campuses being paid in full for January.
* Meryl Fleischer, Course Facilitator of Amended Senior Certificate Programme for Adults (2006 to 2023), Woodstock.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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