2,282 teachers yet to get vaccinated in Kerala as schools reopen today
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Thiruvananthapuram: With schools in Kerala reopening on Monday including for primary classes, more than 2,000 teachers in Kerala have not yet taken the coronavirus vaccine, Education Minister V Sivankutty said on Saturday.
While many teachers have cited allergy and other physical ailments for not taking the jab, a section of the teachers have shied away from taking the vaccine due to faith-related issues.
Sivankutty told media persons that as many as 2,282 teachers and 327 non-teaching staff in the state have not been vaccinated, and will not be allowed to hold physical classes in schools.
He said that such teachers must refrain from attending offline classes and instead can use their services for online teaching.
Talking to IANS, Sivankutty said: "The government and the Education Department want all teachers to take vaccines. They have to consider the future of the students and take vaccine shots but the government will not issue any order. We want those teachers who have not taken a vaccine not to attend physical classes and they can provide their services online."
With the schools reopening today after a gap of one and half years, there have been apprehensions among parents about sending their children for physical classes as the state still has a high number of Covid cases.
Complete inoculation is mandatory for all teachers and non-teaching staff in Kerala's schools — a method state officials hope will function as bio-bubble to prevent outbreaks.
There are 1.60 lakh school teachers and 20,000 non-teaching staff in the state.
The school reopening is scheduled in two phases--on November 1 and 15. Classes from I to VII and X & XII would begin in the first phase, the rest of the classes, i.e., VIII, IX are to start on November 15. However, there is no clarity still on whether Plus One classes would start on November 15.
As of Sunday (October 31), Kerala has administered a total of 3.89 crore vaccine doses, with 1.36 crore individuals fully vaccinated against Covid-19.