The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is urging all teachers and support staff across the province to get vaccinated to avoid any further disruption of schooling and risking the future of our children.

The DA shares the concerns of parents and different stakeholders that the Covid-19 pandemic is severely affecting the education sector. However, we do not support the idea to shut down schools. 

We demand that both the Gauteng Department of Education and the Department of Health should prioritise the vaccination of teachers and support staff and ensure that there are enough vaccines to avoid any further unnecessary delays in the school curriculum since the start of the academic year.

Since schools have adopted the rotational system due to the Covid-19 pandemic, learners have fallen behind in the curriculum, yet some organisations are advocating for the schools to be shut down.

We cannot allow anyone to gamble with the future of our children as the pandemic is something we all have to learn to live with.

The Covid-19 pandemic should be viewed as an opportunity to focus on innovative education and fight inequality gaps by creating more opportunities for all.

 We have noticed that children whose parents have access to resources will continue to attend school online while those who do not have will fall behind.  The total closing of schools will only make the inequality gap bigger.

The DA is appealing to all teachers and support staff across the province to get vaccinated, maintain health protocols standards and wear their protective personal equipment. We believe that all education stakeholders must do their best to ensure that we protect the interests of learners and teachers. 

A rapid vaccination of teachers and support staff will ensure a faster return to conducive teaching, where children will be at less risk of falling behind in learning. 

Issued by The DA