The department has also promised to deliver the rest of the Grades 1, 2, 3 and 10 textbooks to schools in Limpopo by October 12 and report to the court on October 15.

The department also agreed that textbooks for the 2013 academic year would be delivered by December 15.

This was part of the agreement reached by the department and human rights group Section 27 yesterday after the lobby group had approached the court seeking an order declaring that the department had failed to comply with the two previous court orders.

In May the court ordered the DBE and Limpopo department of education to deliver textbooks to schools across the province by no later than June 15, and to implement a catch-up plan for Grade 10 learners, starting on June 15.

A further court order was granted in July, confirming an undertaking by the DBE to complete the delivery of textbooks by June 27 and to revise its catch-up plan.

Section 27 had also asked the court to compel the department to conduct an independent verification process to determine which schools in Limpopo had received textbooks for the 2012 academic year.

Section 27 CEO Mark Heywood said the application was just to tighten the knots.

"Now the department will have to take an oath on the delivery of textbooks, unlike with previous orders where they only had to report on the catch-up plan," Heywood said.

Departmental spokeswoman Hope Mokgatlhe said they were compliant with the court order, because they were able to deliver a lot of books in a short time.

"We hope the judge will realise that we have done - in a few weeks - the job that would normally have taken us months," Mokgatlhe said.

"We cannot concede that we are non-compliant. Our communication channels are always open, taking us to court was a bit extreme."

The agreement will form part of a consolidating court order that Judge Jody Kollapen is expected to make in the next two days.

Comments

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Sun May 26 09:24:29 SAST 2013 ::

Oct 3, 2012

Papage

The Department has failed our school children, they must now start planing for 2013 and stop waisting time. Going to High Court for our work will not improve the results at the end of the year. they must accept they made wrong decisions and learn from the mistakes, there is no need of still making lot of noise about this, we all kno the truth now, come lets go back to catch up in class.
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Oct 3, 2012

Mahlol'adibona

Papage
The Department has failed our school children, they must now start planing for 2013 and stop waisting time. Going to High Court for our work will not improve the results at the end of the year. they must accept they made wrong decisions and learn from the mistakes, there is no need of still making lot of noise about this, we all kno the truth now, come lets go back to catch up in class.
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And over the September long weekend when I was home and my nephew told me that they still haven't received the text books I was fuming. Here is the government that is prepared to spend over R200-mill on one family but shy away to deliver best education. This is the final nail in the coffin, I won't be casting my vote for the ANC-led govt. Not anytime soon anyway.
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Oct 3, 2012

KatakataEmaotoAditshepe

Limpopo department of education must be given to whites they'll deliver the books I trust them.
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Oct 3, 2012

RobinH

Big Deal! It is now October! No amount of catching up will EVER give this year's learners a fair chance. Many heads should already have rolled, but what does one see? A minister that refuses to answer questions from the press or anyone else; dumping of books which simply never gets investigated; promises that never get fulfilled; and bigger and better perks for all our leaders for their wonderful performance. Now what is wrong with that picture, I wonder.
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Oct 3, 2012

RobinH

kata: One appreciates your position, but let's leave racial terminology out of this, please.
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Oct 3, 2012

!!Sinudeity!!

KatakataEmaotoAditshepe - "Limpopo department of education must be given to whites they'll deliver the books I trust them."

Da fug?
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Oct 3, 2012

KatakataEmaotoAditshepe

@RobinH

kata: One appreciates your position, but let's leave racial terminology out of this, please.
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Robin please man,my comment iis clean man what racial terminology you're talking about now?

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Oct 3, 2012

TheMan2000

Why should Section 27 force the Limpopo DoE under the ANC leadership to deliver books to the people, who voted for it. Where are the Youth Leagues (Communist and ANC party) which are claiming to represent the youth, which is being failed by the people it voted for. Is Prof Jonathan Jansen correct about the attitude of some politicians on education. The silence of the Limpopo primier is sound.
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