Tabs kept on school textbook deliveries

2 Jul 2014

The Department of Basic Education is collaborating with the State Information Technology Agency in developing a system to track the provision of resources in all provinces.

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga says most of the schools in South Africa have textbooks and those pupils without books had not had their rights violated. Image: GCIS

The national learner and teacher support material management system would monitor the procurement and delivery of textbooks and workbooks in SA's public schools, said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, in response to a Parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance MP Desiree van der Walt.

The delivery of learner materials has remained an issue since the Limpopo text book saga in 2012 grabbed headlines, with some even calling for Motshekga to be sacked.

The delivery of textbooks in Limpopo is audited currently using the online system LithoTech of the South African Post Office, which provides details of the quantities of materials ordered and delivered per subject and grade per school.

Motshekga said the reliability of that system was dependent on the data provided by the school principals, which at times is not not accurate.

Textbooks still not being delivered

In May, the North Gauteng High Court ruled in favour of lobby group Basic Education For All (Befa) in the Limpopo textbook saga. The court found that the Department of Basic Education had violated pupils' rights to education through its failure to deliver textbooks.

Befa had said the department had failed to supply textbooks to 39 schools in Limpopo. The education department blamed school principals for the shortages, saying they failed to submit their requests on time.

But last month Motshekga filed court papers, arguing that the Limpopo textbook delay had not violated pupils' rights.

She said providing textbooks to every single pupil would amount to a level of "perfection" she did not need to achieve.

In her reply to another of Van der Walt's parliamentary questions, Motshekga said the department held regular meetings with Limpopo's education officials, in order to monitor progress of textbook delivery.

"The department has already placed top-up orders in addition to the surplus buffer stock for all grades in preparation for 2015," Motshekga said.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

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