TUT suspends contact classes as Covid-19 infections soar

08 June 2021 - 22:12 By naledi shange
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Contact classes at Tshwane University of Technology's campuses have been suspended as the university expresses concern over the growing number of Covid-19 infections.
Contact classes at Tshwane University of Technology's campuses have been suspended as the university expresses concern over the growing number of Covid-19 infections.
Image: Greg Roxburgh

The Tshwane University of Technology has suspended contact classes at all its campuses, saying the surge in Covid-19 numbers, particularly in Gauteng, was a cause for concern.

Institution spokesperson Phaphama Tshisikhawe said the suspension was from Monday and since then, the institution had turned back to online learning and provided students with the necessary data to go online. 

“Teaching and learning will not stop. This is being done to help stop the spread of the virus. We are not immune to the spreading of the virus as we have seen it happening in the communities we are in,” Tshisikhawe said.

She quashed reports that the contact classes were suspended because of the death of a student from one of their Pretoria-based campuses. The university had been informed of the student's passing on May 31 at the George Mukhari Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa.

“We have suspended contact classes but it’s not because of the death of the student,” said Tshisikhawe.  “This is the first case where a student who resides on campus has succumbed to Covid-19,” she added.

While contact classes had been suspended, the university was not yet ordering students to vacate the residences. Instead, tougher restrictions would be put in place to ensure the their safety.

“Curfews will be announced to minimise movement within campus,” said Tshisikhawe. Laboratories and libraries would be regularly sanitised while student buses would operate with 50% capacity. Buses would be sanitised after each trip.

The university  would be guided by its own Covid-19 task team on when contact learning could resume.

TimesLIVE


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now