Our View: University depriving unvaccinated students of their future

The announcement by the University of Technology (Tepak) that it would only take vaccinated and recovered students came as a bit of a surprise while the debate was still ongoing on whether students would need expensive PCR tests rather than the usual rapid tests for their SafePasses.

Going against the advice of its own scientific advisers by floating the PCR idea at all, the government, instead of taking a decision on Monday, put it off until next Wednesday.

Clearly in the meantime, there were behind-the-scenes manoeuvres going on with Tepak and the University of Cyprus and the former decided not to wait for the government. The latter has opted for the SafePass.

For Tepak it seems, the SafePass is not good enough even though it is deemed so for use across the rest of society. Now, the university is depriving its unvaccinated students of their entire futures unless they get the jab.

Using weasel words, this is being referred to as “a choice”. However, the definition of freedom of choice describes an individual’s opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, “unconstrained by external parties”.

More weasel words came from the health minister when asked about the Tepak decision. He said the university was an autonomous body and was free to make its own decisions. Tepak may be autonomous on paper, but it still receives an annual budget from the state that covers its running costs.

A state university cannot be put on a par with private businesses that do not receive state funding, but it appears the government is following the same path it took with the shops and venues – let the owners do the bulk of policing the SafePass, or allow in only vaccinated customers. This cabinet has thus passed the buck for an unpopular political decision that was totally unscientific in the first place.

Getting an education is not the same as passing up one shop or venue for another or avoiding them if they only accept the vaccinated. This decision could even prompt some students to deliberately go out and get infected to get a ‘free pass’ for six months.

As for the scandal-ridden Tepak, have they not been keeping up with the news? It is rejecting people who have a negative test in favour of allowing vaccinated students freedom of movement when the science now says they can carry a similar amount of the Delta variant as the infected unvaccinated. How does the university plan to ‘police’ that? And, what happens in six months’ time if, as being discovered now, the vaccine immunity wanes over time?

Surely, the best way during all this uncertainty to ensure safety on campus is rapid tests for all students. They are already free for the vaccinated. Tests can be unreliable in rare cases but as inconvenient as they are, they remain for now, the best mechanism for gauging the epidemiological picture.