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Man narrates his rise from kitchen cleaner to senior university lecturer; he's now a professor

Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 4:52 PM by Tunde Ososanya Khadijah Thabit

- Ntsikelelo Pefile said his first job at the University of Cape Town was as a kitchen cleaner

- Pefile worked as a cleaner at a time when his aunt was a domestic worker to the vice-chancellor of the campus

- Through hard work and his aunt's support, he was able to rise to the position of a senior lecturer in the same institution

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A South African man has narrated how he rose from being a kitchen cleaner of a university to a senior lecturer in the same institution.

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Ntsikelelo Pefile, a professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT), said he worked in the same campus as a cleaner at a time when his aunt was a domestic worker in the residence of the vice-chancellor.

Man narrates his rise from kitchen cleaner to senior university lecturer — The man said he became a lecturer in the same university he worked as a kitchen cleaner. Photo: UGC.
Source: UGC

According to SowetanLive, his aunt then moved to the school's medical department and made connections with the students and that was where his journey to physiotherapy began.

Through her help, he applied to study physiotherapy in the varsity and though he was accepted, he almost quit his studies due to financial constraints.

Fortunately for him, his aunt was brave enough to ask a vice-chancellor in UCT for a loan to pay his school fees.

He said:

"She marched into Ramphele’s office (former vice-chancellor) and asked for a loan. She took my academic transcripts. Luckily in the first year, I had straight As in the second semester.

"Ramphele gave my aunt the loan. UCT gave me a loan to study at UWC. That’s my relationship with UCT and now I’m back as a lecturer.”