PORT ELIZABETH - PE SCHOOLS IN DIRE STRAITS AFTER NOT RECEIVING ENOUGH TEXTBOOKS FOR THEIR PUPILS

Hundreds of Port Elizabeth pupils have been forced to beg‚ borrow or steal textbooks and stationery‚ because their schools have still not received their full annual allocations.

Although they are already in the final month of the first school term‚ at least 24 of the northern areas’ 56 schools and more than half of the township schools have yet to receive their full quotas.

Mpumi Odolo‚ chairman of the National Association of School Governing Bodies in Nelson Mandela Bay‚ was unable to provide exact figures for township schools‚ but said that more than half had not received their quota of textbooks and stationery.

At the beginning of the school year provincial education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima assured the public that the textbooks had all been delivered.

Education MEC Mandla Makupula also said at the time that the northern areas would be one of the department’s priorities this year.

On Sunday provincial education portfolio committee chairman Fundile Gade accused senior education officials of presenting false reports in January on the state of readiness of schools for the 2017 academic year.

In Port Elizabeth’s northern areas‚ the worst-affected schools include Strelitzia Primary – which has only received 12% of its textbook and stationery quota‚ Astra Primary (29%)‚ West End Primary (30%)‚ Bethelsdorp Road Primary (40%) and Papenkuil Primary (48%).

The figures came to light following visits to the schools in the northern areas and townships last month by the Northern Areas Education Forum (NAEF).

VIA - timeslive