Pietermaritzburg - More than 3000 non-section 21 schools in KwaZulu-Natal will have their textbooks and stationery on or before the first day of the 2009 provincial school calendar year.
Provincial Education MEC Ina Cronje said 3 122 non-section 21 schools, which represents 99 percent will have their textbooks and stationery when the schools open on 21 January 2009.
"We have already reached a 98.5 percent delivery of books for this year," Ms Cronje said on Tuesday.
She said an outstanding in delivery of 1.5 percent was due to publishers who were unable to deliver the orders placed as early as 24 July 2008.
"The strides in the delivery of textbooks have moved from 40 percent in 2006, 80 percent in 2007, 95 percent in 2008 and 98.5 percent delivery for the 2009 academic year.
"The department has sustained the momentum in the delivery of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) and surpassed its own targets set," Ms Cronje said.
She noted that the provision of LTSM was one of a number of critical prerequisites in the provision of quality education to all.
She added that the department's commitment to providing quality education was clearly visible in its efforts and the strides made over the past four years to ensure that all learners in non-section 21 schools have their textbooks and stationery before or on the first day of school.
"There has also been a steady increase in LTSM budget allocation over the last four years and additional funds have been allocated to selected grades in an attempt to ensure that each learner will eventually have a textbook for each subject or learning area," she said.
With regards to schools under section 21 status, which buy LTSM on their own, Ms Cronje said a system was being developed to assist the department to monitor and ensure that all section 21 schools have used the LTSM budget allocation appropriately and have procured textbooks and stationery for all learners.
