Some S.African schools still without books: report

Some South African public schools are still without textbooks seven months into the academic year, despite a court order forcing the state to deliver them, a report released on Monday said.

The largely rural northern province of Limpopo was the worst affected, prompting the government to appoint a task team to investigate after campaigners launched a lawsuit against the department of education.

The report, led by former national education chief Mary Metcalfe, revealed that 22 percent of schools in the province were still without books.

“The report shows that on June 27, only 15 percent of books had been delivered to schools,” Mark Heywood, the executive director of legal campaigners Section27 told journalists.

The group is one of those involved in the lawsuit.

“By July 3 this had increased to 48 percent,” he added.

“According to the report, by July 11, 22 percent of the sample schools were still awaiting textbooks,” said Heywood.

In May, a court ruled that the failure to deliver books on time was in violation of the children’s constitutional right to an education.

The department of education missed the extended June 27 deadline set by a court to deliver the books and situation described in the media as a “national shame”.

The report found that despite the extended deadline, claims by the department that 98 percent of the books had been delivered were incorrect.

It cited problems in the supply chain and poor communication between officials and schools.

The report also said some schools had reported that they had not received textbooks for as many as four years: others said they had stopped expecting them.

South Africa’s public education system is beset by inefficiencies and a lack of resources, despite the government’s massive spending in the sector.