Out of the 1.6 lakh school teachers and 20,000 non-teaching staff in Kerala, more than 2,000 teachers have not taken the coronavirus vaccine, yet. According to Education Minister V Sivankutty, many of these teachers have cited their religious faith as the reason for not taking the jab.
The state is currently preparing to reopen schools for physical classes from 1 November.
About 2,282 teachers in the state are still unvaccinated. They will not be allowed to hold physical lessons in schools.
Sivankutty further said that the government would not issue any order but wanted all teachers to take the vaccine for the sake of the students. He stated that it was better if these teachers took online classes and kept away from school premises.
In Kerala, complete vaccination is mandatory for teachers and non-teaching staff to go to the school premises. State officials hope that this method will prevent further coronavirus outbreaks.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)