Textbooks delivery claim repudiated

15 August 2012 - 02:16 By DENISE WILLIAMS
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File photo.
File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

The Department of Basic Education has told parliament that it has delivered all 1.2million of the outstanding textbooks in Limpopo.

But this claim has been rejected by the non-profit organisation that took the department to court over the textbook saga.

Basic Education director-general Bobby Soobrayan told the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education yesterday just over 1.2 million textbooks had been procured and delivered to schools for Grades 1 to 3, and Grade 10.

He gave an "unconditional" and "unqualified" apology for a vague catch-up plan presented by the department last week.

The department was sent packing last week by angry MPs when it presented a report that they described as poor and sloppy.

But NGO Section 27's attorney, Nikki Stein, yesterday rejected Soobrayan's claim that all the schools that had reported not having textbooks had now received them.

"That's not my understanding about what's happening. We've been in touch with about 14 schools in the provinces and of those many have not received textbooks at all."

She said her lobby group was also not satisfied with the department's explanation of why it failed to order indigenous-languages books.

"We think it is inconsistent with the court order," she said.

Soobrayan said his department had made "solid progress" in resolving the province's textbooks disaster. He said the largest portion of books delivered (957 989) was for pupils in Grade 10.

Out-of-stock books written in indigenous languages had been ordered but were still to be delivered.

"With regards to the books that were available from the publishers that we ordered, all those books have been received by the schools. There isn't a school that has reported through the mechanisms we set up [that has not received its books]," said Soobrayan.

He said the "mechanisms" included the phone hotline set up by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and visits to schools.

Soobrayan said the minister was in Limpopo to assess the extent to which teaching had been affected.

He said it was wrong to assume that teaching had not taken place. The late or non-delivery of textbooks was attributed to corrupt officials and contractors who had dumped or shredded books, as well as to cashflow problems in Limpopo.

The province's education department, and four other departments, were placed under national administration at the end of last year following reports of poor financial administration and governance.

The acting deputy director for curriculum, policy development, monitoring and support in the national Department of Basic Education, Mathanzima Mweli, said the province had overrun its budget by R1.3-billion in the past financial year, which had affected its ability to order textbooks. Money allocated for the 2012-2013 financial year had to be used to cover the shortfall.

Mweli said the 10-point studies catch-up plan included using community radio and television to broadcast teaching material, newspaper supplements distributed by the Avusa media group, holiday camps and extra maths and science tuition.

MPs responded more favourably to the department's presentation this time, but many were concerned that the scale of insufficient teaching was not being dealt with.

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