By Grace Udofia
The Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Higher Health, an organisation in South Africa, has said a mandatory vaccination policy is not necessary for the higher education sector.
According to the group, it is still too early to make vaccination for COVID-19 mandatory for these group of persons, as each institution will have to look at its structure before making the decision.
The SRC and Higher Health said this comes after South Africa initiated the proposal to make vaccination mandatory for university students and staff.
In his statement Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Higher Health SA, Ramneek Ahluwalia said, “Before any university makes any decision of this kind, a proper consultation with all stakeholders should be conducted until everyone understands the environment they are in.
“Each university is very unique at this moment, and each university has to look at its uniqueness of why it has to take a decision of that kind and how quickly it has to take a decision of that kind.”
According to the plan as indicated by university, if the policy is approved, all staff and students must be vaccinated and must be able to provide their vaccination certificates from the 1st of February 2022 to enter campuses.
However the SRC while rejecting the idea said, “It is against the direction the university is intending to take next year.
“The university is also planning on bringing back staff and students in a phased-in approach.
“So a possible plan to implement a policy that will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before registering at the institution will infringe on the rights of students.”
