UMALUSI believes rolling blackouts across South Africa due to load shedding may have a negative impact on the 2021 matric results.

Grade 12 pupils are in the process of writing National Senior Certificate exams and currently have to contend with stage 2 load shedding throughout this week, until 5am on Saturday.

This after Eskom implemented Stage 4 load shedding expected to last until Friday morning while Stage 2 blackouts will be implemented until five o’clock on Saturday morning.

Speaking to NewzroomAfrika, Umalusi CEO Mafu Rakometsi said load shedding would affect the quality of the exams as well as the results.

“Load shedding will negatively impact on the results. If students are not able to study adequately, then that is a problem,” said Rakometsi.

“I want to say that people are not equally sighted in terms of how they can see and immediately you have to write in a dark room. That situation is going to affect the students differently. [They] might struggle to go through the question papers and struggle to write because they are writing in a room that [isn’t] well lit.”

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said 15% of matric exam centres in the province have been affected by blackouts.

Lesufi said while the department was prepared for the blackouts, if it continued, matric results could be badly affected.

“I can say 15% of our examination centres have been affected because it comes and goes at different times, we’ve got papers in the morning, we also have papers in the afternoon,” said Lesufi.

“So it has affected us but as I said we’ve incorporated it, but the sooner we get past this stage of load shedding the better because it will generally affect the outcome of the results.”

Public Servants Association (PSA) in KwaZulu-Natal has called on government to deal with the load shedding crisis.

The Department of Basic Education said on Monday it had contingency plans in place to ensure the latest bout of rolling blackouts won’t impact the matric exams.  

The department’s spokesperson Hope Mokgatlhe told Jacaranda FM news that there’s a plan B should load shedding disrupt exams.

“What we have said as the department and we always say so that the nation and the parents can be at ease, is that if it happens that learners cannot write because of a power outage, we have backup papers. We are talking about grade 12 here, in fact, all grades that are writing exams now- we have backup papers all the time,” said Mokgatle.

“So we want the nation and parents to know that as the department, our plan B is that if it happens that learners cannot write because of something we cannot control like a power outage, they will write at another time. We will have a backup paper so they will not be disadvantaged because as the department and as the government we work together knowing that there are things that we cannot really foresee.”

* Inside Education

A 53-year-old principal from Mooifontein Primary School in Zastron, in the Free State, has succumbed to gunshot wounds.

Andile Ketso was shot by unknown suspects in Zastron.

Free State Department of Education said Ketso started the teaching profession in 1992 and was a Physical Science teacher at Lere-La-Thuto Secondary School before he was promoted as a principal.

The Free State Education Department has shared its condolences with the family members, learners and colleagues of a school principal who was gunned down at Zastron in the Free State.

Spokesperson, Howard Ndaba says the Department has lost a dedicated teacher who always strived for quality results.

Ndaba also condemned violence at schools, and called on all management teams, school governing bodies, and learners to strengthen school safety and build relationships with police.

“We want to take this opportunity to convey our sincere condolences to the family of Andile Ketso who’s a principal at Mooifontein Farm school in Zastron. Mr Ketso was gunned down and the suspects and motive for his killing are still unknown. He was a very dedicated educator who’s teaching physical science, he joined the department in 1992,” says Ndaba.

He further added that Ketso was a very dedicated principal and educator who joined the Education Department in 1992 as a junior teacher.

Last month, Dr Granville Whittle, deputy director-general at the basic education department, told parliament the national school safety framework remained their primary strategic response to school violence.

“It is based on a social ecological systems model, which locates the school within its broader community. It relies on collaboration and partnership. South Africa joined the Safe to Learn global campaign to end violence in schools, in partnership with Unesco and Unicef,” he said.

The education department said its partnership with the departments of justice and social development ensured improved vetting of teachers and other staff, and the establishment of a national school safety steering committee with related government departments and social partners to better coordinate safety interventions.

Whittle further said that in collaboration the department has also embarked on interventions aimed at addressing hotspots for most at risk schools.

Some of the measures include improving the built environment, such as considering learner safety when planning school infrastructure, as well as closure of taverns and liquor outlets in close proximity to schools, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, SAPS and South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

The measures also include search and seizures in partnership with SA Police Service (SAPS) and the provision of security guards to schools at risk.

The SAPS said school based crime prevention would be intensified and that the collaborative agreement with DBE would be revised in order to make it more effective. 

THE South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says that a significant number of primary schools around the country remain on rotational timetables, with many schools also applying to keep a rotational timetable in place in 2022.

The reason for the rotation is a directive from Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma providing that social distancing measures in primary schools should be maintained at one meter, the commission said.

The SAHRC said it has also been made aware that most schools in the Western Cape (86%) have applied for rotational timetables for the 2022 academic year.

“The commission holds that rotational learning has a long-lasting negative impact on learning outcomes for children and, as the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 (MAC) advice states, that the harms of learners attending school on a rotational basis – specifically the severe cognitive, nutritional, and psychosocial costs – exceed the benefits of reduced Covid-19 infections from smaller class sizes.

“The Cogta directive compromises the ability of primary schools – where the very foundation of learning takes place – to return to normal teaching and learning, notwithstanding reduced transmission and virus acquisition rates among teachers and learners in these schools as the majority of educators have been vaccinated and due to the low acquisition risk profile of primary school learners.”

The SAHRC said that it agrees with the MAC that all primary schools should open at full capacity.

The commission said it has now written to the basic education minister, the health minister, and the Cogta minister to call for an urgent meeting to discuss the termination of rotation in primary schools.

“This would essentially mean that the Cogta minister needs to amend her directive by deleting the 1-meter social distancing requirement in respect of primary schools.

“We will also discuss the return to normal schools for high schools, in view of the fact that the Department of Health has commenced with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for 12-year-olds,” the commission said.

* Business Tech

PROFESSOR Bonang Francis Mohale was officially inaugurated as the eighth Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS) on Friday.

He took up his five-year term in June 2020 and has served in the role for the past 17 months. Prof Mohale takes over from Dr Khotso Mokhele, who served as Chancellor of the UFS from June 2010 until June 2020.

Prof Mohale is the President of Business Unity South Africa (Busa), Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School’s College of Business and Economics, Chairman of both the Bidvest Group Limited and SBV Services.

According to the UFS he is a highly respected South African businessman, known as much for his patriotism as his active role in seeking to advance the country’s interests. He is the author of the best-selling book, Lift As You Rise, launched in November 2018. The book is a compilation of some of the spoken and written words in which Prof Mohale reveals the issues that he is passionate about – among them leadership, transformation, people development, constructive collaboration, and integrity.

Prof Mohale emphasised that the challenges facing higher education were linked to the broader challenges facing South Africa, namely, poor economic growth, high youth unemployment, and the paralysing effect of the “nine wasted years” of state capture.

“The student protests and service delivery protests are a symptom of many societal ills and failures. While government may have had the resources – financially and technically – to map a way forward for the higher education sector, its ability to implement is severely constrained by insufficient capacity,” said Prof Mohale.

“The fundamentals of future higher education institutions should be values such as respect, empathy, equality, and solidarity that support and prepare learners for life, to be better citizens, to be more aware of their societal and civic responsibilities and role in the environment and not only for livelihood.”

David Noko, Chairperson of the UFS Council, said that the council appointed the right person for the job, the right person for this university, in this country, at this particular time. “The values that Prof Mohale embodies, which he is known to advocate from various platforms – in written media and virtual spaces – and which he actively lives out, are the values that the UFS cherish and embrace. Values such as respect, empathy, equality, solidarity, diversity, and caring.”

In congratulating Prof Mohale, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, acknowledged the contributions he made.

Compiled by Sazly Hartzenberg

A Liverpool teacher said he was “shocked and humbled” to be down to the final 10 of the world’s best teacher award which carries a $1m prize.

The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, in partnership with Unesco, recognises exceptional teachers.

David Swanston, 34, has made it through to the final shortlist after 8,000 nominations from 121 countries.

Keele University student Elliott Lancaster has also been named in the final 10 shortlist for a new award.

Mr Swanston is the deputy principal at St Vincent’s School for children with sensory impairments in West Derby.

“The children are very excited we’re in the final,” he said.

“I say we because it is a team effort, it is for the whole school, the pupils and the staff.”

‘Exceptionally proud’

Originally from Falkirk in Scotland, he said he was “destined to be a teacher” having been “inspired” by his PE teachers as a child.

He has already received recognition for his impact on visually impaired communities by being named the gold winner in last year’s Pearson National Teaching Awards.

Along with the principal, Mr Swanston helped set up Sightbox which provides sport and education tools for visually impaired and blind people.

He said he would use part of his winnings to boost the charity, which has been rolled out in more than 20 countries.

“If I win, I hope to provide more items and remote resources and send it to more countries and the scope for children to come to St Vincent’s,” Mr Swanston said.​

“It is a basic concept but it makes a significant impact to visually impaired and blind people.”Many of Mr Swanston’s students have gone on to participate in further education, employment and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, while one has competed in the Paralympic Games.

“I am exceptionally proud of them,” he said.

Congratulating Mr Swanston, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he was “incredibly grateful to him for his innovation in supporting children and young people with visual impairments, helping to ensure they can thrive at school, including through sport”.

Mr Lancaster, a postgraduate student at Keele University in Staffordshire, has also been named in the final 10 shortlist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2021, which has a $100,000 prize.

The 24-year-old, who is originally from Alfreton in Derbyshire, has been selected for his campaigns for mental health, social enterprise, sustainability and a solution to homelessness alongside his studies.

Mr Lancaster said it was “incredible and humbling” to be recognised for his community work and if he wins he will use the money to set up a “sustainable student network” to address global issues, such as climate change, hunger and digital poverty.

A virtual ceremony for both awards will take place at Unesco’s headquarters in Paris on 10 November.

Ranjitsinh Disale, from India, was crowned last year’s best global teacher and shared his winnings with the nine runners-up.

Andria Zafirakou, from London, became the UK’s first winner in 2019.

* BBCNEWS

THE extended studies program at the University of Nevada, Reno is launching the first online courses in the state to obtain non-credit certificates in cannabis education ranging from business to horticulture and medicine to help meet demand for jobs in an area that sponsors say is “growing like gangbusters.”

Each certificate program includes three eight-week online courses offered through Green Flower, a cannabis career training company. The four programs cover the business of the marijuana industry; agriculture and horticulture; law and policy; and health care and medicine.

“It’s a new era,” said Jodi Herzik, interim vice provost for Extended Studies.

“The industry is changing,” she told the Reno Gazette Journal.

“You can’t just have former potheads running the counter, you have to have educated professionals.”

Legal cannabis sales exceeded $1 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 in Nevada, where about 10,000 people work in the industry, the Nevada Dispensary Association reported.

“We’ve been very careful to stress that this is strictly education about the industry because there’s a need,” Herzik said.

“With the impact of COVID-19 being displaced, and people looking for new career paths, we thought this might be the right time to try this program,” she said. “Jobs in that area are growing like gangbusters. They’re high-paying jobs too.”

Legal cannabis supports 321,000 full-time jobs nationally, growing faster than any other industry in the country, according to the Leafly 2021 Jobs Report.

“Such growth has created a large and growing job market, and a tremendous opportunity for people in Nevada to find rewarding careers,” said Daniel Kalef, Green Flower’s vice president of Higher Education.

Marijuana is still illegal at a federal level, and that includes direct research, consumption and any other direct use. A majority of states, however, have legalized marijuana in some capacity.

Nevada was the third state to approve cannabis for medical use with the adoption of the Nevada Medical Marijuana Act in 1998. Nevadans voted to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use in 2016.

Herzik said the university hasn’t promoted the program heavily so as to have a soft launch this month, allowing the school to ensure it’s a good fit and doesn’t need any tweaking.

About 30 to 40 prospective students have expressed interest so far, many from the Las Vegas area and a few from other parts of the country, she said.

The first session of online courses begins Nov. 15.

The cost is $2,950 per certificate, but the university is offering a special one-time $500 discount for students who enroll in the November launch. Payment plans are available.

Students will develop a portfolio of case studies and projects that can be used to demonstrate sector-specific cannabis knowledge, Herzik said. Upon successful completion of the program, students will earn a certificate of completion from UNR.

Courses begin in six start dates a year and are scheduled to accommodate working professionals, she said.

Enrollment is open at https://cannabiseducation.unr.edu.

* AP

MULTINATIONAL General Electric (GE) has made a five-year, $2.5-million investment in Johannesburg to launch Next Engineers – a global initiative focused on increasing the diversity of young people in engineering.

GE has selected Johannesburg as one of four inaugural locations, aiming to inspire more than 3 500 local learners aged 13 to 18, to provide first-hand experiences in engineering and to award financial support to pursue further education in engineering.

GE is partnering with South African nonprofit organisation Protec, which empowers local students to pursue and grow in science, technology, engineering and mathematics- (STEM-) based careers, to implement Next Engineers locally.

Earlier this year, GE committed up to $100-million to launch Next Engineers globally.

Over the next decade, the goal is to reach more than 85 000 students across 25 locations globally.

GE South Africa CEO Nyimpini Mabunda says the initiative allows GE to “expose students to the world of engineering at a young age through invaluable hands-on learning experiences”.

Next Engineers will not only provide a platform for Johannesburg’s young people from different backgrounds to bring their unique perspectives to engineering but also empower them to foster the skills needed to “build a world of the future that works”.

We recognise that, for us to make a sustainable impact, we must be deliberate in our efforts to support social change,” Mabunda comments.

Next Engineers is a programme of the GE Foundation, an independent charitable organisation funded by GE.

The programme will offer three age-dependent, inspiring programmes to engage students on their paths to engineering studies.

These programmes include engineering discovery, aimed at learners aged 13 and 14; an engineering camp, aimed at learners aged 14 and 15; and the engineering academy, which is aimed at learners aged between 15 and 18.

Next Engineers will begin accepting applications for the Engineering Academy in January 2022. Students, teachers and the community can obtain updates and more information at www.nextengineers.org 

IN a damning report, the governing council of South Africa’s largest public distance-learning institution, the University of South Africa (UNISA), has been severely criticised for its lack of good governance and failure to safeguard the academic future of the institution. The report also strongly suggests the prosecution of individuals who have conducted themselves improperly.

“Council is the root cause of the problems at UNISA,” states the report of the ministerial task team on the Review of the University of South Africa (UNISA). It calls on the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, to probe financial impropriety and mismanagement at the largest open distance-learning institution in Africa.

It blasts the university council for failing in its vital responsibility to safeguard the academic enterprise, the heart of the institution, and the raison d’être for a university’s very existence.

The findings were described by an academic as a scathing indictment of the council, which served during the tenure of the former UNISA vice-chancellor, Professor Mandla Makhanya, who left office on 29 April 2021.

On 2 September 2021, UNISA inaugurated its first woman vice-chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula. She is also the first black woman to lead the institution known as Africa’s only mega-university.

But it has been a baptism of fire for her as she sets about stamping her authority while cleaning up the legacy issues. Such issues have manifested themselves appallingly in this report.

Staff shortages

“Academic staff at UNISA are stretched to the limit, with insufficient staff numbers in proportion to the rising numbers of students. In addition, a huge number of academic staff vacancies persist. As a result, there is inadequate student support,” the report finds.

The report is critical throughout of the flouting of financial regulations according to established governance principles, which has damaged the academic standing and administrative competence of UNISA as a credible and reputable higher education institution.

The report calls for an urgent investigation by a body with forensic expertise to unravel the extent to which the council has failed to engender an enabling and ethical culture befitting a knowledge institution.

Instead, according to the report, there is a pervasive culture of corruption, impunity, conflict, fear, and intimidation at UNISA.

Alarmingly, the report documents a deliberate and systematic plan, over a sustained period, to establish a corrupt network that has resulted in institutional capture. In addition, it added that there is a culture of impunity deeply embedded in the institution.

The report, which has not been officially released, was handed to Nzimande on 30 August 2021.

‘Too big to fail’

University World News has seen a copy of the 119-page report, compiled under task team chairperson Dr Vincent Maphai.

The independent task team was appointed by Nzimande to assess the mandate of UNISA as an open and distance higher learning education institution.

The other members of the team are Dr John Volmink, chairman of the Umalusi council and former pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Natal, (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal); Professor Louis Molamu, former UNISA registrar and higher education consultant; Nonkululeko Gobodo, former chief executive officer of Nkululeko Leadership Consulting (who served until she was seconded to the office of the Auditor-General); and Professor Brenda Gourley, previous vice-chancellor of both the UK Open University and the University of Natal before it was renamed the University of KwaZulu-Natal).

On why the task team was appointed, Nzimande expressed doubts about the institution and added that UNISA was “too big to fail”, given its size, not only in South Africa, but on the African continent.

In terms of its mandate, the task team was asked to examine contextual and institutional factors that impact upon the current challenges facing UNISA.

It was required to advise on the relevance of UNISA’s strategies and plans to policy objectives in higher education, on the institution’s mandate as an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution, the appropriateness and compatibility of the current model and structure to its mandate, operations and efficacy, and whether its ICT systems are geared towards the rapid advances in digital technologies, among others.

Council’s failures

“It is evident that council has dismally failed UNISA. It has not equipped itself, or the [management committee], with the range of skills and competencies necessary to provide the appropriate strategic guidance and direction to a modern ODeL in the 21st century,” according to the report.

“Addressing the numerous transgressions and failures of the council is a necessary but not complete condition for the revival of UNISA,” the report said.

One of the essential responsibilities of a governing body is to protect the reputation of the institution, but the report lamented the failure to ensure a robust, modern and secure ICT infrastructure, which has not only been damaging to UNISA’s reputation with respect to administrative competence, but also to its academic standing.

Furthermore, the task team found that academics had been hampered in their efforts to improve the student support they are able to provide and their ability to engage with what it means to be an online university.

In a warning which spells a gloomy outlook for the institution, the report observes that academics are unlikely to want to join such an institution – and those already in the institution are more likely to depart in these circumstances.

UNISA’s current strategies are found to be reasonable but not sufficiently credible, and its plans do not cover all aspects of a modern ODeL institution, nor do they build on the institution’s strengths and address its weaknesses, according to the report.

Lapses in strategic areas

A glaring absence is the failure to seize the opportunity inherent in its significant presence in teacher education (which is also a national priority).

Another significant UNISA lapse is its failure to prioritise areas of focus, most notably in ICT infrastructure. While its strategies are of concern, an even more substantial problem is their implementation – or rather, the lack thereof.

“In short, UNISA Council and Mancom [management committee] have failed to execute the mission of the university through clear and effective strategic planning and implementation.”

The report identifies a range of multifaceted challenges facing the university, considering the enormous and dramatic changes in higher education over the past 20 years.

Of great significance to the sector, particularly impacting on UNISA, was the decision by the late former Minister of Education Professor Kader Asmal to merge tertiary institutions.

In 2004, UNISA merged with Technikon South Africa and incorporated the distance-learning part of Vista University.

While mergers are challenging to manage at the best of times, this merger, according to the report, was complicated – and put enormous strain on every part of the institution.

UNISA’s student body increased from 263,559 in 2003 to 375,851 in 2021. Clearly, the university’s growth was not “a simplistic tale of progression”.

In its concluding remarks, the report says that, although UNISA’s multiple strategies are valid overall, they do not match up to the demands of the current environment, nor are they as ambitious as they could be.

“UNISA should be a national centre of excellence in ODeL. It could and should be a major presence in the OER [open educational resources] movement, nationally and internationally. It is neither.”

But the ministerial task team concludes that UNISA should “stick to its knitting”.

In a statement, the current chairperson of the UNISA council, Mashukudu James Maboa, said he was unaware of the report, and that, “It is not the policy of the university to engage with the minister or the department through the media.”

Nzimande’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

STATEMENTS by several government ministries in Algeria stressing that the official language is Arabic have been welcomed by those who wish to see an end to teaching in French.

In recent weeks, the Ministries of Youth and Sports, of Vocational Training and Education, and of Labour, Employment, and Social Security have issued instructions to all affiliated bodies to use Arabic in official correspondence. The rules amount to a ban on the use of French.

Algeria was occupied by France from 1830 until independence in 1962. From 1848 onwards, it was not simply a colony, but an integral part of the French republic.

Algeria’s Constitution recognizes Arabic as the country’s official language, together with Tamazight, the language of the country’s Berber population. But it was only in 1991 that a law was enacted to generalise the use of Arabic. Since then, successive presidents and their governments have tried to enforce it with varying degrees of enthusiasm and success. 

In early October, at the start of the new academic year, the Higher Schools of Artificial Intelligence and of Mathematics began teaching in English instead of French. The schools are affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and together have about 2,000 students.

“The switch in languages was recommended by academics and scholars inside and outside the country.”

Boualem Saidani, director general of training at the ministry, said the switch in languages was recommended by academics and scholars inside and outside the country. They saw “a need to adopt English as an instruction language, especially at the level of scientific and technological institutes and colleges,” Saidani told Al-Fanar Media. 

Teachers No Longer Speak French

Juhaida Hayyan, a first-year student at the Higher School of Mathematics, said she was surprised to see the application forms were in Arabic and English. “Unusually, French was completely absent even from the official announcements of the school,” she said. “It was not on the transport, food, and accommodation cards. Teachers no longer speak French except on some rare occasions.”

Saidani described the use of English in the two schools as “a mere first step,” adding that “it will be followed by the gradual dissemination of the experience to the new university city with about 20,000 students.”

He added that “the ministry depends on training programs in English, and it supervises training workshops.” 

As well as the government ministries, several health institutions and administrative bodies also ordered their staff members not to use French in daily interactions with citizens or official correspondence.

A Social Change

Abdelmadjid Chibane, a linguist and professor at the University of Bejaia in eastern Algeria, noted that this movement away from French reflected a social change.
“French has declined by more than 25 percent in the last five years, due to Algerians’ dependence on English,” he told Al-Fanar Media.

“French is also one of the heavy colonial remnants in Algeria. Getting rid of this legacy requires a strong desire and steel will.”

 “A simple survey of the advertisements of Algeria’s private schools for teaching languages, and statistics of those registered there, confirms the significant decline in Algerians’ interest in French,” Chibane said. “A private school in Bejaia registered 98 people wishing to learn English, compared to 38 students who wanted to learn French this year,” he added.

For students like Juhaida Hayyan, however, the change is not easy. “I face great difficulties in adapting to English higher education curricula,” she told Al-Fanar Media. “This requires me to take intensive English evening lessons at a private school.”

She pointed out that while Algerian schoolchildren begin to learn French in primary school third grade, English lessons do not start until the second year of intermediate, or preparatory, education.

Chibane agreed there was “a need to start teaching English to primary school pupils and to increase English classes in the three educational stages (primary, preparatory, and secondary).” This, he said, would “motivate students to learn the new language, and guarantee the success of the government’s plan to officially adopt it in higher education and scientific research.”

But, he added, “French is also one of the heavy colonial remnants in Algeria. Getting rid of this legacy requires a strong desire and steel will.”

Alfanarmedia.com

Trade union Solidarity is calling on the University of Cape Town (UCT) to review and scrap its policy of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, saying it is a major infringement on the constitutional rights of students and the institution’s employees.

This follows last week’s announcement by UCT’s vice‑chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng that the university’s council had approved, in principle, a proposal requiring all staff and students to provide proof of vaccination for campus access.

The policy is expected to take effect from 1 January next year.

Solidarity’s youth manager Paul Maritz on Thursday said their lawyers had sent a letter to UCT’s management on Tuesday. They are calling on the institution to reject the new policy because they believe it is unlawful and discriminates against students and employees who, for whatever reason, do not want to get jabbed.

Maritz said the union preferred that UCT incentivises students and staff to get vaccinated rather than forcing them to do so.

He did not rule out the possibility of Solidarity pursuing legal action if the institution does not yield to their demands.

“We are saying if legal action is needed then that is the route that we will walk, but we hope UCT moves away from this idea of mandatory vaccinations and rather encourage students and staff by means of rewards or non-coercive measures.

“We think that this is the global standard in any case. We look at universities like the University of Cambridge that don’t force vaccinations but have rather encouraged students and we think that’s actually the way to go,” he said.

According to Solidarity, UCT’s primary mandate is to train students for the workplace and not to promote vaccination.

Despite UCT saying most of its staff and students are in favour of the new policy, Maritz said they believe that it is irrational and unfair.

Solidarity also contends that it is inconceivable for the university to issue such a policy at this time of the year given that the academic year is about to conclude.

It also raised concerns that prospective students who have already applied to study at UCT were not consulted on this.

“At this time of the year, students and prospective students have already reached an advanced stage of the application process for next year. This policy means that many students will now have to look for alternatives at short notice and, in many cases, it may already be too late to do so.

“This policy changes, as it were, the university’s admission requirements and it is not within UCT’s power to randomly tamper with such conditions,” Maritz said.

Maritz said they hoped to receive feedback from UCT by the beginning of November on their demands.

UCT’s executive is expected to report back to council – the university’s highest decision-making body – in December on the establishment of a panel that will develop the operational details required to implement the new vaccination policy.

This includes the principles and guidelines for exemption from a requirement to provide proof of vaccination.

The proposal requires that all staff, as a condition of being able to perform their duties, and students, as a condition of registration, provide acceptable proof of having been vaccinated against Covid-19.

“The UCT Council discussed this complex matter fully and took into consideration a range of diverse views at a meeting held on Saturday. Council resolved that the university executive should proceed to establish an appropriately constituted panel, whose task would be to develop the operational details required to implement the campus access dispensation as referred to above, including the principles and guidelines for exemption from a requirement to provide proof of vaccination.”

Phakeng said UCT’s Executive would be required to report back to the council with these plans in a December 2021 meeting.

As part of our engagements, UCT staff and students were also invited to complete a short survey on the matter, she said.

“The majority of staff and students who completed the survey supported a mandatory vaccination policy for UCT. The UCT Senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of mandatory vaccination at their last meeting in September, with 83% of respondents in the ballot indicating support. The UCT College of Fellows has also released a statement supporting vaccination at UCT.”

The university said that it continues to encourage those who have not yet been vaccinated to do so as that will help keep down the rate and the severity of Covid-19 infection.”