After a cluster Covid-19 outbreak at the Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria campuses, students have accused management of failing to enforce Covid-19 regulations in order to curb the spread of the virus.
Recently a Covid-19 cluster outbreak at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Pretoria campuses have left 100 students infected with the virus. This resulted in Tshwane accounting for half of all the recent new infections in Gauteng.
1387 out of the 2308 new cases reported in Gauteng were from Tshwane.
Students at TUT are now accusing the management of the university of failing to enforce the Covid-19 regulations, which could have prevented this outbreak.
“All measures that were put in place have never assisted us with anything up until today,” said TUT SRC member, Keamogetswe Masike.
The contingency plans here are very simple. The university must provide quarantine facilities off and on campus in the event where students are residing. Students are the ones who are feeling the consequences. Sanitizing and washing of hands have proven to be not helpful to us,
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The TUT management have denied claims that they have failed to enforce Covid-19 regulations and say that plans are underway to salvage what’s left of the current academic year.
“While students continue with online teaching and learning, the university has intensified measures that we have in place to combat the spread of Covid-19,” said the TUT spokesperson Phaphama Tshisikawe.
She says that daily screenings at all campuses will continue and that Covid-19 Task Team members regularly check to ensure that screening equipment is in working order.
There have been reports that TUT has shut down operations on its three campuses in Tshwane but TUT management has denied these reports.
Firstly, let me make a correction – TUT has not shut down indefinitely. All contact student activities on our campuses have been suspended but online teaching and learning in various departments have continued where possible, and students are busy preparing for online end-of-year evaluations.
While universities across South Africa are considering the implementation of mandatory vaccinations, the TUT students have said that they plan on shutting down the university if TUT decides to implement this.
