‘COVID-19 will test our solidarity and commitment’

15 May 2020 | Story Niémah Davids. Photo Lerato Maduna. Read time 5 min.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng and the UCT executive updated staff on the state of the university during COVID-19 and plans for the future.
 

“[COVID-19 presents] an opportunity for us to rethink how we teach and learn, how we do research and how we apply what we learn, recognising that our students will be working with us to build a new, post-COVID-19 world.”

This was the positive message University of Cape Town (UCT) Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng shared with the university community during an online staff assembly on Thursday, 14 May.

The virtual event was convened to communicate the university’s overarching response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to share the executive’s thinking on a phased return to work on campus.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the rapidly changing world. These challenges will test our solidarity and commitment, but together we can overcome each one,” Phakeng said.

Over the next few days UCT News will publish a series of articles that unpack how the university is responding to COVID-19. They will examine the phased return to campus, teaching and learning, student affairs, research, 2020 exams and 2021 admissions.

Navigating the storm

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect many sectors of society, she added, including the higher education industry in South Africa and around the globe.

 

“This is a challenge we share with our students because higher education cannot be about staff on the one side and students on the other side.”

UCT’s challenges are not unique – tertiary institutions around the world are facing the same set of uncertainties. Now is the time for students and staff to pull together.

“This is a challenge and opportunity we share with our students because higher education cannot be about staff on the one side and students on the other side. The university is a community that includes all of us,” she said.

The UCT executive’s immediate focus is to salvage the academic year and to ensure all students complete the year successfully. A number of plans are in place to achieve this, among them emergency remote teaching and learning.

“We are thinking of solutions for all our students, including those whose environments are not suitable for learning, those living in poverty and those living with different kinds of disabilities.

“We are working together to meet the challenges. It’s not been easy.”

Plans under way

Emergency remote teaching and learning has been in effect since 28 April, and Phakeng said that online lessons will continue to help both students and staff in the upcoming terms.

“This new way of learning is stressful for all of us, but especially for students who may feel isolated from their instructors, and tutors from the camaraderie of fellow students.”

She commended the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) in the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) for developing innovative online teaching tools under strict time constraints to ensure remote teaching runs smoothly.

“I hope we can use online teaching as a way to free teaching staff in order to engage more meaningfully with students on a personal level. Your influence as role models remains as important as ever,” she added.

Health and safety

The health and well-being of staff and students is of utmost importance. The university has taken the necessary steps to ensure staff have the support they need, even while off campus, she said, and are encouraged to make use of the services available.

While everyone remains eager to return to work, Phakeng said UCT remains guided by national government directives and stressed that the executive will not return staff to campus (even in a phased approach) unless it is safe to do so.

 

“Of course, we would much rather be together, and social distancing is demanding.”

In the meantime, she urged staff to reach out to their colleagues, to provide a community of care and to maintain the “sense of camaraderie” that would otherwise have existed in the office.

“Of course, we would much rather be together, and social distancing is demanding. Like you, I would much rather sit with my colleagues around a conference table. But like you, I am finding ways to stay in touch online,” she said.

A new UCT

Thanks to the hard work and commitment from staff, a “new kind of UCT is emerging from this crisis”.

She thanked staff for demonstrating “excellence, resilience and innovation” during a difficult and uncertain time.

“Campus will be quiet for some time, even with the staggered return of the South African economy.

“[But] we are not going to just survive this crisis; we are going to thrive through it, and we are going to help South Africa thrive as well.”


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UCT’s response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
 

 

“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

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