He said the African National Congress would also look at the under-performance of municipalities during its NEC lekgotla, which begins this week.

"Obviously we will be forced [at the lekgotla] to look into the issues of education today. The NEC will look into the Limpopo textbook debacle and the intervention in the Eastern Cape," Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.

"What is important to me [about the Limpopo report] is that it helped us to take ourselves out of the situation, and the hullabaloo that is at a public level, and into a situation where we can look at the matter on a more factual basis."

He said it would help the party to think about the saga without "emotion or sentimentality".

"If you had only taken information from public announcement, I'm sure you would have heard Cosatu [Congress of SA Trade Unions] general secretary [Zwelinzima Vavi] saying expel that minister and expel so and so," he said.

"We should not make a decision on that basis."

The report by former education director general Mary Metcalfe was compiled in response to the department's assertion that 98% of textbooks were delivered to Limpopo pupils after schools were without books for seven month.

It found that despite the extended date for the delivery of textbooks – June 27 – the department's assertion that 98% of the books were delivered was incorrect.

Mantashe said the party was "lucky" to have the report by auditor general Terence Nombembe on the finances of local government before it held its lekgotla.

"We will pay attention to that report," he said.

The report revealed that only five percent of municipalities received clean audits while none of the metros received clean audits.

The party would also discuss job creation, health, rural development and the fight against crime and corruption during the lekgotla.

It would be held from July 26 to 28 at the St George's Hotel, near Pretoria.