Teachers can’t endanger students’ lives, says HC on plea against vax

PANAJI: Teachers “can’t endanger the lives of students”, the high court prima facie stated while hearing petitions filed by teaching and non-teaching staff seeking for the vaccination to be made voluntary and not compulsory.
During the hearing on Thursday, the division bench of the high court comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and M S Jawalkar stated that the teachers are not being compelled to take the vaccine as they have been given the option of producing RT-PCR certificates at their own expense, and must cooperate.
Advocate general Devidas Pangam said that individual rights should be kept aside in this issue and the bench added that the mandatory testing is in the interest of protecting the health of the students.
The bench said that vaccination is compulsory even in case of employment and asked the advocate general whether any other courts have passed orders in similar matters.
Advocate Gaurish Malik representing the petitioners sought an early hearing for interim relief for the teachers stating that schools have already started in the offline mode and in the wake of the second circular issued by the directorate of education.
The petitioners have submitted that the Union of India and the ICMR are yet to file their responses to their writ petition and added that taking a RT-PCR test every week, even if they don’t show any symptoms, “will cause them severe health problems”.
“They will also have to bear the expense for the RT-PCR every week thereby causing them financial hardships whereas no such compulsion is levied on the students. Private laboratories charge an average of Rs 2,500 per RT-PCR test.”
They have also submitted to the high court that they are made to stand in the queue with symptomatic patients and sometimes are being driven off from the testing centre and told to report only if they have symptoms.
The petitioners have produced an RTI reply from the ICMR stating that “repeated testing at very frequent intervals can lead to injury in nasal cavity and throat”.
They have also stated that doctors at Covid-19 hospitals and at Goa Medical College who come in close proximity with positive patients are more vulnerable to the infection, but no circulars on similar lines have been issued by the directorate of health services for them.
The teaching and non-teaching staff have suggested that other precautionary measures be adopted and that the government make a provision for free RT-PCR testing facilities.
They are also seeking stay on the circulars of the directorate of education.
The latest circular issued by the directorate of education on October 8 regarding conducting of offline exams for secondary schools lists out conditions that must be strictly adhered to.
It stated that only vaccinated staff (teaching and non-teaching both) shall be allowed on the school premises.
“Those who cannot produce a vaccination certificate shall be allowed after producing the negative report of the RT-PCR test. Such report shall be valid for seven days and a fresh report shall be produced after the seventh day,” director of education Bhushan K Savaikar stated in the circular.
The petition will come up for hearing next week.