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UFS Council approves COVID-19 required vaccination policy

27 November 2021

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) carefully considered and approved a vaccination policy for the institution during its meeting on 26 November 2021.

The aim of the COVID-19 Regulations and Required Vaccination Policy is to regulate access of staff, ad hoc contract workers, and students to all the university’s premises. The policy will be implemented as from 14 February 2022.

“The policy implies that the university does not force anyone to be vaccinated, but the institution has the right to require vaccination if you want to access the institution’s premises in order to protect our staff and students,” said Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

Fiduciary duty to ensure safe and caring environment

“The UFS is a residential university that requires face-to-face engagement by both staff and students, and operational requirements entail that our staff, ad hoc contract workers, and students are regularly exposed to large groups on the three campuses. We have a fiduciary duty to ensure a safe and caring environment and to meet the health and safety obligations on the campuses,” said Prof Petersen.

Since March 2020 and within the national lockdown levels, the institution has followed a predominantly online emergency-remote learning-and-teaching programme with a minimalistic approach to the return of staff and students to campus. Where possible and within the national lockdown levels, staff members have been working from home, except essential service employees and academic staff that were required to support students studying on campus in carefully managed face-to-face classes/interactions.

“The viability of consistent remote working and study conditions is not in line with the culture and strategy of the UFS. Although a blended learning approach is supported, sole online learning will be detrimental to the quality of our graduates and the experience that the institution should offer to its students as a residential university,” said Prof Petersen.

Encouraging university community to vaccinate

The institution is greatly concerned about the number of staff, students, and ad hoc contract workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the commencement of the national lockdown. The pandemic has resulted in numerous individuals being placed in quarantine, testing positive or being incapacitated due to COVID-19 complications and deaths. “We believe that the policy will be a contributing factor in encouraging the entire university community to make the responsible decision to vaccinate,” said Prof Petersen.

Although the policy does not force anyone to vaccinate, it is aimed at restricting campus access to vaccinated persons, while at the same time considering applications for exemption based on medical and religious grounds, natural immunity objections, other legally acceptable exemptions, or those participating in clinical trials approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). Employee and Student Vaccination Exemption Committees will evaluate applications for exemption. These committees will operate independently, and will include medical, religious, legal and psychology experts.

Vaccinated persons will be required to upload their vaccination certificates on an electronic platform to obtain access to campus. Staff, ad hoc contract workers, and students who are not vaccinated, who do not have an approved exemption or deferral, and who do not have a SARS COVID-19 PCR negative result that is not older than a week, will not be allowed access to the campuses or facilities. Only vaccinated students will be allowed to access on-campus accommodation.

Students who are not vaccinated by 14 February 2022, will not be prevented from registering for the academic year, but can only access the campus if vaccinated or granted an exemption.

Consultation process and thorough risk assessment

“The development of the policy was consulted widely with relevant internal stakeholders, among others, the university’s Senate, supporting it with an overwhelming 84%. The university also followed due process by referring the proposed policy to all its governance structures for consultation – including obtaining opinions from reputable legal firms in the country,” said Prof Petersen.

According to Prof Petersen, the UFS has conducted a thorough risk assessment of the implementation of the policy, and a contingency plan is in place that will be implemented in the absence of full implementation of the policy. “We will consider following a flexible approach if we initially find that the rate of vaccinations is low. We will work tirelessly with government to accelerate the rate of vaccinations with the ultimate goal to obtain a high enough level of vaccinations to limit the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and create a safe work and study environment for our staff and students,” he said.

VIEW the Roads to Return to Campus 2022 Infographic here

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Getting out of the dark

2015-04-28

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Since 2008, the University of the Free State has been busy with the planning and implementation of projects to reduce the impact of load shedding. To date, the cost of these projects has run to R6 million. They have been done primarily to ensure that the academic programme does not suffer damage as a result of the increasing interruptions in the power supply that are continuing this year.

The university’s greatest concern has been the provision of emergency power to the lecture halls and laboratories.

Thus far, 35 generators are servicing 55 buildings on the three campuses of the UFS. This includes 26 generators on the Bloemfontein Campus, eight on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State, and one generator on the South Campus in Bloemfontein. The generators are already in service, and are maintained in working order.

Since 2010, the university has also ensured that all newly-built academic buildings are equipped with emergency power supplies.

On the South Campus in Bloemfontein, the new lecture-hall building and the computer laboratory are equipped with emergency power, while the installation of emergency generators in other buildings is under way. The majority of the buildings on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State are equipped with emergency power supplies.

In the meantime, the UFS management has approved a further R11 million for the installation of additional generators on the three campuses. A further R1.5 million has also been approved for the purchase of two mobile generators.

To extend the work already done, the main task will be the installation of more generators on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure that lecture halls with emergency power will be available for the centrally-arranged timetables, and to ensure that more of the critical laboratories will be provided with emergency power.

There are still some important buildings and halls on the Bloemfontein Campus that must be supplied with emergency power. However, it is a costly process and must be brought into operation gradually. The further implementation of emergency power depends on the delivery of equipment. The university is also investigating alternative solutions for power provisioning, including solar power.

Generators with spare capacity are optimally deployed to satisfy the lower needs of the campus, including the Odeion, the ANNEX at Microbiology, the Stabilis ANNEX, the Agriculture Building, the UV-Sasol library, and the Francois Retief Building.

In addition, the UFS is busy on all campuses, coupling area lighting, including

street lights and pedestrian walkways, to existing generators. Procedures for the operation of mechanical equipment, such as entrance gates, lifts, and so on, are currently being dealt with on all campuses. Continuous power sources for certain ICT equipment will be installed on all campuses to protect it against power surges.

Staff and students can also equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to manage load shedding in their specific areas of work and study. It is always helpful to know who to contact. The following list with guidelines and contact numbers has been compiled to assist you:

1. In an emergency, call Protection Services. This line will continue to operate, regardless of whether the power is on or off.
2. Avoid using lifts just before planned load shedding. Some lifts have emergency power packs which will bring the lift to the nearest floor and open the doors. If you still get stuck in a lift during a power outage, use your cellphone to call Protection Services. While you're waiting, stay calm and be patient.
3. If the access control systems in your building stop working after load shedding, contact Protection Services.
4. The students and staff members who are most at risk during load shedding are those in wheelchairs or with other mobility limitations. As far as possible, plan ahead to avoid being stuck on a floor or in a room that is difficult to access when load shedding is imminent. Please contact Protection Services if you need assistance.
5. During a fire, alarms WILL go off. Alarms are not power driven, but battery driven. For assistance, contact Protection Services.
6. The main UFS Switchboard (Bloemfontein Campus +27(0)51 401 9111 and Qwaqwa Campus +27(0)58 718 5000) will continue to operate during load shedding.

Contact details of Protection Services:

Bloemfontein Campus: +27(0)51 401 2634/2911
Qwaqwa Campus: +27(0)58 508 5460/5175
South Campus: +27(0)51 5051217

Communication and Brand Management will make information available on the UFS web, Facebook page, Twitter, Blackboard and the intranet. Get the load shedding schedule from Eskom’s webpage (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/). The Bloemfontein Campus falls in group 4 and the South Campus falls in group 2 in Centlec’s load shedding schedule.

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