By Wednesday, all schools in the province must have received outstanding textbooks, according to an agreement between the department and rights organisation Section 27.

"We get daily reports from the province and it is going well," department spokeswoman Hope Mokgatlhe said.

The Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday it would ask Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate the burning and shredding of textbooks in Limpopo.

"Today we will begin donating crates of books in perfect condition to schools who need them in Seshego, the township where government was destroying the books," the DA said in a statement.

The party had salvaged books from the dumpsite.

A contractor claimed government was paying to dispose of reading material, according to the DA.

A biography of former president Nelson Mandela, Shakespeare's Macbeth and Aids education manuals were among the dumped books, some of which were still in plastic wrappers, Beeld newspaper reported.

Mokgatlhe was not immediately available for comment on this matter.