Thousands of Eastern Cape schools – including most schools in Makhanda and surrounding areas – are still without stationery and textbooks going into their fourth week of the school year.
Mary Waters High School and Carlisle Bridge Primary received some stationary on Tuesday, 8 February. But, principals from 22 schools in the district have confirmed that they have received no stationery so far.
According to an Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDOE) memorandum dated 6 February 2022, the DOE will begin delivering some “top-up” textbooks from 10 February.
However, in a 4 February letter of demand to the ECDOE, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) said these deliveries would likely only be delivered to schools between March and May 2022.
The LRC said this was “simply unacceptable”.
“Learners need stationery to write and perform almost all their academic tasks, and they also need textbooks to follow the curriculum. Delivering textbooks to schools a few weeks before mid-year exams is a serious failure by the ECDOE, the letter said.
The LRC has demanded that all stationery items be delivered to Eastern Cape public schools by 28 February 2022, and textbooks are delivered by 31 March 2022.
To ensure better transparency and oversight, the ECDOE has also been called on to provide lists of schools, broken down by district, indicating exactly when they will receive their stationery and textbooks and from which suppliers.
The ECDOE has also been called upon to set out steps to ensure that the same problems do not occur in 2023.
Most retailers run out of school stationery supplies
Meanwhile, concerned Eastern Cape parents have told the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) that their children do not want to go to school due to the lack of stationery and textbooks. Many impoverished parents have been forced to borrow money to buy their children a few stationery items.
In January, most local stationery retailers ran out of their ‘back to school’ supplies as panicked parents bought up stock for their children. ABM Office National in New Street ordered two extra consignments of stationery to meet unprecedented demand.
On Monday, ABM manager Kevin van der Merwe said that the outlet still had plenty of stock.
Azapo protests
In January, the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) staged protests against the DOE.
In a statement, Azapo education spokesperson Manku Noruka said, “It is February, and school children have not received stationery.
“This undesirable situation is one of the many anomalies in the Eastern Cape Provincial government. Urgent intervention is needed to ameliorate the situation in the many affected schools.”
He said Azapo was also worried about reports that many education assistants’ (EA) and general assistants’ (GA) stipends have also not been paid on time.
“Azapo calls upon the Eastern Cape education MEC Fundile Gade to investigate these matters urgently.”
Budget cuts
The ECDOE has blamed budgetary constraints for the delay in delivering stationery and textbooks.
In its 6 February memorandum to schools, the DOE said a much-reduced grant for Learner Teacher Support Materials had been granted by the Department of Basic Education and Provincial Treasury in December 2021.
“By then, suppliers were closed. A recovery plan kicked off in January 2022, and to date, deliveries to schools to receive their consignments is under way.”
Retief Odendaal, the Democratic Alliance Shadow MEC for Finance on the Eastern Cape, said the department had overspent the voted budget, resulting in unauthorised expenditure.
List of local schools without stationery or textbooks
By Tuesday 8 February, no Learner Teacher Support Materials had been received by the following schools:
- Victoria Girls High School
- Victoria Primary
- DD Siwisa Primary
- PJ Olivier
- Oatlands Primary
- Riebeeck East Combined School (no payment of educational assistants at RECS)
- Oatlands
- George Jacques Primary
- Tantyi Primary
- Hendrik Kanise Combined School (Alicedale)
- Port Alfred High School
- Velile School (Bathurst)
- Fikizolo Primary School
- Alexandria High School
- Good Shepherd Primary
- Ntsika High School
- George Dickerson Primary
- Nombulelo Secondary School
- St Mary’s RC Primary School
- Bathurst Primary School
- Ntaba Maria Primary
