THE provincial department of education in Limpopo has given school principals and school governing bodies until January 13 to release pupils' progress reports.

THE provincial department of education in Limpopo has given school principals and school governing bodies until January 13 to release pupils' progress reports.

The ultimatum comes after reports that certain school principals and governing bodies have refused to give children their progress reports because they had lost textbooks or failed to return them when schools closed last year.

Nearly half of the 4015 schools in the province are practising the unofficial no books, no report policy

As a result many pupils spent the festive season not knowing whether they will proceed to the next grade or not.

Among the guilty schools are Boke, Kgwekgwe and Mohlatlego-Machaba High, all in Tzaneen.

"This is wrong. Children cannot be punished for having lost the books," provincial education spokesperson Ndo Mangala said.

But he pointed out that it was advisable to return the books so that they could be used again the following year.