Eastern Cape schools send final letter of demand for textbooks

The Legal Resources Centre‚ acting on behalf of two schools in the Eastern Cape‚ has sent a final letter of demand to the province's education department for delivery of textbooks. "We are demanding delivery of textbooks to the Nombulelo Secondary School in Grahamstown and Bethelsdorp Comprehensive School in Port Elizabeth‚ who‚ despite having ordered books in accordance with the [Eastern Cape Department of Education] ECDOE’s requirements have‚ to-date‚ not received a large portion of their books for the current school year‚" the non-profit law clinic said in a statement on Monday. "Nombulelo Secondary School is waiting for textbooks to the value of R161 512‚30 to be delivered for the 2016 school year. Bethelsdorp Comprehensive School has textbooks to the value of R195 165‚29 outstanding for the 2016 school year. "The Supreme Court of Appeal has made it clear that it is the duty of the State to fulfil the s 29(1)(a) right of every learner by providing him or her with every textbook prescribed for his or her grade before commencement of the teaching of the course for which the textbook is prescribed." The centre said the failure to deliver textbooks meant the schools had experienced‚ "a dire shortage of textbooks for the entirety of the school year thus far‚ and their chances of succeeding in their exams are being severely jeopardised". "If we do not receive a response from the ECDOE within the necessary timeframes‚ we will launch urgent proceedings in the High Court to compel delivery of the missing books‚ so that our clients are‚ at the very least‚ equipped with textbooks for the final term of the school year."