MEC Lesufi receives vaccine jab at Rabasotho Community Hall
“We must also not disturb teaching and learning and remember that we are doing this for our precious cargo, which is our children,” said Lesufi.
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was among the first group of educators in Gauteng to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
The group was successfully vaccinated at Rabasotho Community Hall on June 23, along with Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga and Deputy Minister of the Department of Health Joe Phaahla.
The Gauteng education sector vaccine programme aims to vaccinate approximately 125 934 employees, including educators and education support staff at 46 vaccination sites across the province.
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According to Lesufi, there are no records of children who have been hospitalised due to the virus in the region; therefore, the Gauteng Department of Education will ensure no time is lost for teaching and learning and that no learners are left behind.
“I am feeling well after taking the vaccine, obviously with mixed emotions. The regret part of it is that we have lost so much time as the education sector. I believe that if we received the vaccines earlier, we would have recovered and saved the future of our learners, but we still have time to provide all the necessary support to our learners, which is the first step of ensuring that the education sector recovers from its lost times,” Lesufi said.
Lesufi also encouraged employees in the education sector, including cleaning personnel, general assistants, food handlers and Early Childhood Development teachers, to get vaccinated on time so that the education sector can complete its vaccinations and pass the baton to other sectors.
“We must not be seen as greedy as the education sector and delay the process of vaccination because the queue is long and other people also want to get vaccinated. We must also not disturb teaching and learning and remember that we are doing this for our precious cargo, which is our children. If we protect our children, by extension we are protecting our families.”
Motshekga said that the sector is committed to completing the vaccinations by July 8, before the next term.“We don’t want to disrupt the progress of schooling. We aim to finish the vaccinations in two weeks, which is an acceptable amount of time,” Motshekga added.
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