More dumped textbooks are found

Published Jul 26, 2012

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More textbooks have been found dumped in Limpopo, fuelling concerns that the number of textbooks dumped in the province could be higher than initially thought.

The latest batches of undelivered textbooks were discovered at the old Giyani circuit office building on Wednesday. More than 15 boxes, containing 360 textbooks each – including those about the new curriculum and assessment policy statement – were found dumped at the offices. The books ranged from grades 1 and 7.

They were discovered by Blue Cross, an NGO caring for alcohol- and drug-dependent people, which is renting the offices. Staffers told The Star they were surprised to find the boxes dumped in a room that they use as a kitchen. The building is located about 5km from the bushy area near a local dam where batches of undelivered textbooks were discovered earlier this month. The discovery led to the arrest of a clerk, who is standing trial in the local magistrate’s court.

The latest discovery came as Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga visited Limpopo to launch her turnaround strategy on the education-crisis-ridden province. Motshekga kickstarted a strategy with a meeting with principals of schools in the Capricorn district.

It was the third time that books were found in Limpopo. Two weeks ago, a textbook dumping site was found near a bridge in Tzaneen. A damning independent verification report by Mary Metcalfe two weeks ago found that only 15 percent of the books had been delivered by June 27 – a day before the department had claimed that 98 percent of the books were delivered.

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