School books shredded as kids go without
BASIC Education Minister Angie Motsheka must explain how textbooks came to be dumped for disposal at a site in Seshego, near Polokwane, the DA says.
“The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo inspected the site yesterday where a contractor is claiming they are being paid by the government to destroy the books,” spokesperson on education Desiree van der Walt said.
Motshekga needed to immediately explain the contractor’s claims, she continued.
“It is unthinkable that books which are still of value to children with no access to reading material could be disposed of in this careless way,” she said.
“What kind of person or regime sanctions the destruction of books?”
The shortage of reading material in schools across Limpopo made the destruction of the books unacceptable ”, she insisted.
“Congress of the People MP Tshilidzi Ravhuanzwo says the party was made aware about a week ago that “piles and piles” of books were being dumped.
Books and stationery, some still in their original packaging, were being burnt and shredded.
“So many schools don’t have books and [even old books] could have been used in libraries, ” she says.
Ravhuanzwo says that books from the previous curriculum would still be useful to teachers and pupils because the learning content did not change. “We really need those old books. “I would have liked to have stopped them [destroying the books].”
Limpopo education spokesperson Pat Kgomo says the matter only came to the department’s attention on Friday.
“How the materials came to be dumped is under investigation,” he says.
On Friday, Motshekga said she was not to blame for a delay in the delivery of textbooks to the province’s schools.
“And no, I have not considered resigning, she told reporters in Polokwane. ” “The best I can do is sort out what I started. “I won’t jump ship.” She blames the delay on various factors, including cash flow and administrative problems.
Last month the High Court in Pretoria ruled the department’s failure to provide textbooks violated the Constitution.
The application was brought by rights organisation Section27.
Motshekga says her department had met with Section27 and agreed to move the deadline to Wednesday. – Sapa