Several universities in South Africa have introduced vaccination policies which impact students to different degrees. Some institutions require learners to be vaccinated in order to attend lectures while other institutions will not allow unvaccinated students to register.
The Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation has stated that they do not promote any mandatory vaccination policies at higher learning institutions in South Africa.
However, a policy has been developed to guide institutions around the management of the Covid-19 pandemic in institutions of higher learning.
“HIGHER HEALTH, with support from its Technical Scientific Team, the Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), has developed a comprehensive and clear set of PSET guidelines and protocols on managing Covid-19 in the sector,” explained the department.
The guidelines that the department refer to is titled GUIDELINE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES ON COVID-19 VACCINE IN THE POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR.
It is important to note that the guidelines related to management of Covid-19 by HIGHER HEALTH were released before the Covid-19 vaccination rollout in South Africa.
HIGHER HEALTH works to promote health and wellness in South Africa’s 26 public universities and 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The department clarified their stance on Covid-19 vaccination after a question was brought in parliament regarding vaccination policies at some universities.
