Zimbabwean Government Instructs Universities & Colleges To Turn Away Unvaccinated Students

The Zimbabwe government has instructed universities and tertiary colleges in the country to turn away unvaccinated students. The revelation was made by Secretary for Higher Education, Professor Fanuel Tagwira in an interview with ZTN.

Said Tagwira:

You cannot enter without a vaccination card. Even companies are not allowing people to come in without vaccination (cards). I don’t know why people think the universities should take unvaccinated people, because the risk is to the lecturer.

So, what we are basically saying is that, get vaccinated, if you have a medical reason why you can’t be vaccinated, then bring the letter. But we can’t have a person say I don’t want to be vaccinated and I want to come to class. Then you are actually spreading the risk to other people.

Recently Harare Polytechnic students complained that they were being turned away from college for not being vaccinated.

In related news the High Court has dismissed an urgent application by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), seeking to prohibit employers including the Government from compelling unvaccinated workers to stop reporting for duty.

While the government insists that getting vaccinated is not mandatory, there has been an increased restriction of access to spaces by unvaccinated people, such as workplaces and places of learning. Zimbabwe currently does not have a Vaccine Passport program in place.

There has been a reduction in the number of Zimbabweans getting vaccinated in recent weeks. This has been blamed on the perceived reduced risk of contracting COVID-19 as new infections and deaths are on the decline.

More: Chronicle