Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) has appealed to Government to set aside vaccines for students in higher learning institutions.
In an interview with Lusaka Star, ZANASU President Steven Kanyakula said coming up with such a mechanism will reduce the spread of COVID-19, hence, ensuring that universities and colleges are not closed due to the pandemic.
There is need for Government to spare a certain number of vaccines to be distributed for students and lecturers in institutions of higher learning,
he said.
Kanyakula said it is better to have the vaccine readily available for students that want to be vaccinated, despite learning institutions having students who do not want to get vaccinated.
Even though we do not subscribe to mandatory vaccination, it will be good to have vaccines readily available to ensure that we have some students vaccinated and safe,
he said.
And the ZANASU president further disclosed that his Union wants all higher learning institutions to physically open as online learning has proven disastrous for students both in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, Bupe Mvula, a University of Zambia (UNZA) first year student, is hoepful that students at the University will be alllowed to be in school at the beginning of the academic year as both online learning and phased opening were not effective.
Apart from having to deal with poor network, we had to deal with the pressure of having to do a whole year’s course in a period of only two months, which was very hectic and overwhelming,
Mvula said.