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City Varsity lecturers and support staff resign over non-payment of salaries

City Varsity lecturers and support staff resign over non-payment of salaries
Siyabonga Goni
By Siyabonga Goni
3 Dec 2024
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‘After resigning, a sense of relief washed over me,’ said a former City Varsity lecturer in Cape Town after 13 lecturers and support staff resigned from the Educor institution due to unpaid salaries dating back to August 2024. City Varsity said it didn’t owe staff salaries for a period when it had been closed.

Educor’s City Varsity College in Cape Town is losing employees after 13 lecturers and support staff called it quits this week due to months of unpaid salaries dating back to August 2024.

The troubles on the Cape Town campus in Roeland Street follow the deregistration of City Varsity’s licence and that of three other Educor institutions in March this year after complaints from students and a failure to submit annual financial statements and tax clearance certificates.

Licences were provisionally reinstated in August, subject to the colleges meeting certain obligations.

In November, Daily Maverick reported that 26 educators had not been paid for months while parents were frustrated by the continued issues, which led to their children staying at home for nearly two months while City Varsity was closed.

Read more: Educor’s City Varsity in Cape Town in turmoil with students stranded, ‘heartbroken’ teachers unpaid

There has also been turmoil at Damelin’s East London campus, which is also run by Educor. 

Food on the table


Following these multiple issues at Educor’s institutions, lecturers and supporting staff have chosen to resign from the City Varsity in Cape Town.

According to a graphic design lecturer who requested anonymity, 10 lecturers and three supporting staff resigned this week, while eight lecturers are still with City Varsity and two lecturers are still considering resigning.

In his resignation letter, which was shared with Daily Maverick, the lecturer said, “Despite my repeated attempts to address this issue, I have not received my full salary on time, specifically 50% of my September salary, as well as my full October and full November salaries. The continued delay in payment has caused financial distress and impacted my ability to perform my role effectively.”

“All communications from directors of Educor, management at Educor and Human Resources at Educor have been purposely phrased and written in such a way as to paint the staff in general, and the lecturers specifically as ‘disgruntled employees attempting to sabotage the academic year’ instead of attempting to resolve the issues and to save the academic year,” wrote the lecturer.

A supporting staff member, René Jacobs, told Daily Maverick that it had been an emotional rollercoaster and she could not take it any more.

“I needed some sort of peace of mind. I couldn’t take this any more. After resigning, a sense of relief washed over me.

“I got my August salary in November and it was short. They also paid 25% of the September salary in November. I have a four-year-old daughter and a six-year-old niece who live with us. My mom is diabetic and on chronic medication and there’s days that there’s not even food, and she needs to eat. The mental strain that they have put on me, I just couldn’t any more. I needed to just say I have to close this door,” said Jacobs.

Another lecturer who resigned and requested anonymity told Daily Maverick that City Varsity was making them look as if it was their fault that learners were not going to school.

“One of the most hurtful things is that it feels like they’re [City Varsity] trying to turn the students against us or threatening us that the lecturers are sabotaging the academic year, the lecturer’s actions don’t align with their statements that they care about the students.

“We’ve put everything on the line to get as far as we’ve gotten, we’re still owed months’ worth of salaries and yet you’re telling us you’re not going to pay us all of those salaries,” said the lecturer.

‘No work, no pay’


City Varsity director Melvin Munsami said there was an agreement that resulted in lectures resuming on 18 November after staff had not been working while discussions were under way to resolve the issues of salary payments. However, on Monday, 2 December, a coordinated resignation took place.

“[This] is a deliberate attempt to disrupt the academic process and hinder students from completing their studies. These staff, notwithstanding their continued assurances that the welfare of the students was of utmost importance, have now by their actions failed these very students,” said Munsami.

Munsami suggested that if the lecturers did not work during the two months that City Varsity was closed, they should not be compensated.

“The City Varsity staff will be compensated. However, there is a no work, no pay policy in place. This failure to work resulted in students not paying their fees and this knock-on effect resulted in delayed payments of staff salaries… As per the arrangement conveyed to them, staff have been paid the relevant portions worked in September accordingly,” said Munsami.

Educor’s wider crisis


The temporary closure of City Varsity campuses followed a series of financial and operational issues within the Educor group. Earlier this year, City Varsity in Braamfontein closed after staff withdrew their services due to unpaid salaries. 

In March 2024, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) cancelled the registration of several Educor institutions, including City Varsity, Damelin and Lyceum, citing non-compliance with financial reporting requirements.

During the department’s announcement, former Minister Blade Nzimande revealed that Educor had failed to submit proof of financial viability for 2021 and 2022, despite claiming to have 50,000 students enrolled. The department also flagged complaints of staff exploitation, non-payment of salaries and unresolved grievances from students.

Despite the cancellations, Educor’s institutions were provisionally reinstated in August 2024, under the condition that they submitted monthly financial reports and complied with accreditation requirements set by the Council on Higher Education. 

However, many students and staff remain uncertain about the future of their education and livelihoods.

Read more: Nzimande lashes Damelin, CityVarsity, Intec and Lyceum for ‘worst sin’ committed by an education institution.

CEO of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) Dr Whitfield Green previously told Daily Maverick that the council was aware of the reports of campus closures and unpaid lecturers at City Varsity campuses. 

“The CHE is very concerned about the situation… The CHE has been sending all the complaints it has received to the institutions [Educor] for their response. No responses have been received. CHE recently sent letters to each institution requesting information on the state of provisioning of the higher education qualifications by the institutions. Responses are awaited,” said Green. DM

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