UJ registrar: Students now have until 11 April to upload proof of vaccination
The university said there’s been an uptick in vaccination numbers in recent days, students have been lining up to get the jab out of fear of facing de-registration.
JOHANNESBURG - University of Johannesburg (UJ) students who’ve been rushing to beat Thursday’s vaccine mandate deadline may breathe a sigh of relief as the upcoming Easter recess will buy them more time.
The university said there’s been an uptick in vaccination numbers in recent days, students have been lining up to get the jab out of fear of facing de-registration.
The university has reported 97% of its staff, and over 88% of students have been partially or fully vaccinated while 65% of the post-grad students got the jab.
UJ registrar professor Kinta Burger said students now have until 11 April when they return to classes to upload their proof of vaccination.
“We are not going to cancel student registrations today – we give them this extra and then we assist them as far as possible to become vaccinated. During the month of march clicks has provided us with sites on campus – and we have rotated that service between our four campuses and in this last week we could see a high uptake.”
Staff had until mid-March to show proof of being jabbed while students had until Thursday, 31 March.
A UJ staff member ,who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said he would rather lose his job than be forced to take the jab.
“I think I was the first person who was denied access, in fact, I was escorted outside campus,” he said.
He claimed his application for an exemption on medical grounds and the subsequent appeal was unfairly denied even though he produced a medical report: “They didn’t even bother to verify that or do further tests to prove that what it [medical report] is true.”
But Burger said they were continuing to engage affected staff: “Those staff that has been denied after the appeal that means they are no longer compliant and we are reaching out to them one-by-one.”
UJ said it had partnered with Clicks to run vaccination sites at all four campuses, while some students who wanted to get the jab were taken to the Helen Joseph Hospital for their shot.
Vaccine mandate policies have been a contentious issue at tertiary institutions with the University of Cape Town opting to pause implementation and many other institutions keeping an eye on amendments to the National Health Act for guidance.
