DA calls on DBE to release clear and succinct plan on teacher vaccination
17 January 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to engage with the Department of Health to release a clear and succinct plan on what the vaccination process for teachers will look like as a matter of urgency. We are seeking a comprehensive timeline for these vaccinations as it is becoming clear that teachers are increasingly under threat due to the Covid-19 virus as number of teachers have already passed away since the beginning of the pandemic last year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address to the nation on 11 January 2021, indicated that teachers would be prioritised in phase 2 for vaccination. While the DA welcomes this, and have called for educators to be classified as essential frontline workers for vaccination, teachers and their schooling communities need certainty that the process will not be bungled especially light of the number of teacher casualties due to Covid-19.
There has also recently been an alarming number of Covid-19 outbreaks at Matric marking centres, which once again highlights the threat under which teachers work.
It is therefore no surprise that teachers are anxious about the start of the academic year at the end of this month and whether they and their learners will be safe.