25 January 2017

 

The South African Human Rights Commission regards the non-compliance by the DBE, and the consequent non-delivery of textbooks, in a very serious light

 

LIMPOPO – Limpopo MEC for Education, Ishmael Kgetjepe said the department will finish delivering stationery packs to schools in the province by the end of the week.

Speaking on Monday at the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, Kgetjepe said that over the past weekend, around 70% of the deliveries had been made already and confirmed that the department were making deliveries.

 

“We should be able to deliver stationery to our schools. We are obliged to do so. We’ve committed to our people and the schools that we should be able to finish that work this week,” he said.

 

Kgetjepe’s promise comes days after the South African Human Right’s Commission’s (SHRC) decision to take legal action on non-delivery of textbooks in the province.

 

In a press statement released last week, SAHRC Commissioner responsible for Basic Education, Adv. Andre Gaum, said the commission had established, through its Limpopo Provincial Office, that several schools in the province had not received their textbooks timeously as ordered by the High Court and upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

 

“The SAHRC regards the non-compliance by the DBE, and the consequent non-delivery of textbooks, in a very serious light. The relevant departments, it appears, have not established adequate controls to ensure that textbooks are provided before the commencement of the academic year, as ordered by the court,” said Gaum.

 

The SAHRC called on the Limpopo Department of Education to deliver all outstanding textbooks to all affected schools by 23 January 2017.

However, Kgetjepe has said that whether the commission had given the instruction or not‚ the department had already committed themselves to finish deliveries by the end of this week, saying they might have to mop up here and there.

 

He went on further to say that the department were not supplying new textbooks to schools‚ instead, they would be delivering “top ups”.

 

“We’ve been supplying top ups from October. Schools had to tell us if they anticipate increase or if they are introducing a new grade.”

Source: Bosveld Review