"We are confident that if they work closely with their teachers... it is still possible to compete at national level and put [up] a good performance," spokesman Makonde Mathivha said in a statement.

"We would like to advise our learners not to be overwhelmed by the manner in which the schoolbooks distribution problem is being reported, because this might demoralise and derail them from their studies."

Textbooks for some grades were delivered seven months late in the province, and then only after the NGO Section 27 obtained a court order with a deadline forcing government to act.

Mathivha said the African National Congress in Limpopo also welcomed all government efforts to deal with the root causes of the dumping of some of the school material.

"Government must ensure that all wrong-doers are brought to book," he said.

The presidency, the basic education department, and the Limpopo government have each set up an investigation into the non-delivery of textbooks in the province.

Mathivha said these would help prevent the same problems from happening in the future.