Cape Town - A small group of College of Cape Town City Campus students have protested a reported shortage of lecturers.
The protest, albeit over a broader issue, was sparked largely due to the loss of a lecturer many said stepped up to fill the gaps as a result of a lack of lecturers, with the students calling for the lecturer’s return.
On February 9, the Student Representative Council secretary-general wrote to college management to share concerns related to the “troubling trend of lecturers no longer working within the college”.
According to the email, the absence of lecturers has resulted in disruptions to classes; lack of communication around the departure of lecturers; uncertainty and confusion among students around their coursework, assignments, and assessments; and a negative impact on academic performance and progress.
Protest organiser Somikazi Joni said there was a shortage of lecturers in business management and transport and logistics. She said the protests started on February 9. There was also no maths literature lecturer.
Second year transport and logistics student Nyakallo Mbali said: “I'm protesting about the management of this college. To be quite honest, the way we as the students are being treated here is not nice.”
“Since I arrived here last year, there are a lot of things that are not being done. The majority of us are NSFAS-funded but you will find we don't have textbooks, where you are paying for the textbooks, we don't have lecturers.
“I spent almost six months last year without having a Computer Literacy lecturer and there are other students who have been complaining about not having lecturers.”
Acting campus manager, Marsha Solomon, said there was no shortage of lecturing staff at the City campus, and that the college secured its full staffing complement for 2024.
“The students are protesting because they do not want the staff we have provided.
“All of our staff are suitably qualified for the subjects they have been requested to lecture.
“We have incurred staff cuts, this is due to a reduction of student intake/numbers which was predetermined by funding provisions from the department for 2024,” Solomon said.