According to the Gauteng Department of Basic Education (GDBE), about 9 113 educators and support staff, some with comorbidities, are refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccination jabs.
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, said: “We are worried that nearly 10 000 of our personnel in the Gauteng education sector are, for some reason, refusing to be vaccinated against this deadly virus, which has wreaked havoc in schools and communities by taking away loved ones.”
While vaccination is voluntary, the World Health Organisation (WHO) encourages people at increased risk of contracting Covid-19, such as healthcare providers, educators, older or elderly adults, as well as people with other medical conditions, to take the jab to reduce the risk of developing the illness and its consequences.
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Getting vaccinated could also help protect people around you because if you are protected from getting infected from the disease, you are less likely to infect someone else.
On June 23, the GDBE announced the start of the massive Education Sector Vaccination Rollout Programme, which aimed to vaccinate those who work in the education sector.
Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona said so far, 53 154 educators and support staff, out of 124 934 personnel, have been vaccinated at 56 sector sites across the province.
“The number of vaccinated personnel is expected to increase next week as the delays in the capturing of educators and support staff from school governing bodies (SGBs) and independent schools have been resolved. It is common cause that learners are on recess and, as such, in the coming week, sites will be inoculating to ensure that all outstanding personnel is vaccinated accordingly.”
Mabona said the reluctance to vaccinate is a threat to the government’s efforts to normalise schooling during this disruptive pandemic, and effectively threatens the academic year in its entirety.
“Educators were prioritised in this phase of the vaccine rollout and were expected to take advantage of this opportunity to avoid further disruptions and learning losses in the education sector because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This would ensure that contact learning continues and that no learner will be deprived of learning in a classroom with all the necessary curriculum resources needed. The refusal to vaccinate also impacts the rollout reaching other affected sectors timeously for the country to develop ‘herd’ immunity,” said Mabona.
Key stakeholders in the education sector, such as unions and SGBs have thrown their support behind the programme as they are well-aware of the challenges that the virus is having on the provision of quality education to learners in Gauteng.
The department urges educators and support staff who are refusing to vaccinate to make use of this opportunity and vaccinate.
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