Dozens of concerned parents, school governing bodies, teachers unions and students leadership organizations throughout have vowed to take the Department of Health and the Departments of Education to court if they implement mandatory vaccination or demand passport to grade 12 learners.
These threats started to surface on Friday after unverified reports that some high schools in KZN and Western Cape have advised matric learners to get vaccine certificates if they want to be accepted at the third term examination rooms.
In an exclusive telephonic interview with JHR, Raymond Naidoo (who is an SGB member of Durban high school) said he has been instructed by dozens of concerned parents to please verify with the Department of Health and Department of Education if indeed it is true that grade 12 learners will be forced to take vaccination or otherwise face the Irish of being excluded from writing examples.
”I have received more than ten calls from parents. They were all asking me to please confirm if indeed what is reported is true. I immediately call my child’s school principal.
He told me that the district hasn’t called him but some of his principal colleagues have decided to implement a no vaccine passport – no examples writing stunts.”
Upon given that feedback to the parents, parents reportedly decided that we should approach law firms that can prepare opposing papers for our regional courts.
Provincial education spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa confirmed to the media that an investigation was underway following claims that pupils diagnosed with Covid were allowed to write alongside other pupils at Solvista Secondary School in Phoenix without safety protocols in place.
On the other hand, Cape Town (Phillip) SASCO has also threatened to mobilize learners to fight against the idea of mandatory vaccination, if it indeed gets proposed or implemented.
The National Teachers’ Union (NATU) general secretary Cynthia Barnes said her union has called upon the Department of Education to ensure that its risk-adjusted strategy is sensitive to the fact that some schools are bound to suffer more than others if schools open before the conditions are right.
When politicians were pushing for schools to reopen during the third wave peak, we disagree but they ignore us.
As Natu, we would like to repeat our views that learners and educators have rights. Giving underage learners an ultimatum to the vaccine or kiss their future goodbye is never the right thing to do.
In fact, if implemented, this rumoured decision is a gross human rights violation. Therefore on those bases, we will support those SGB and student formations who want to go to court.”
Our attempts to get comments from the Department of Health were not successful as the Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga was constantly not available.
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