26 September 2012
The Department of Basic Education submitted its answering affidavit to the North Gauteng High Court in response to the further application brought by SECTION27 in the ongoing Limpopo textbooks crisis.
SECTION27 filed this further application after receiving reports that thousands of Limpopo learners are still without textbooks and are facing an inadequate departmental catch-up plan – essentially, non-compliance on the part of the DBE with the two existing court orders on this matter. The further application calls on the North Gauteng High Court to make the following order:
• Declaring that the DBE has failed to abide by two court orders relating to the delivery of textbooks and the implementation of a meaningful catch-up plan;
• Directing the DBE to conduct an independent verification as to which schools are yet to receive textbooks;
• That learners in grades R, 1, 2, 3 and 10 receive their outstanding textbooks immediately and by no later than 31 October 2012;
• That the DBE file monthly reports on the procurement process for 2013 textbooks until this process has been completed;
• That the catch-up plan for Grade 10 learners be revised and implemented throughout the 2013 school year; and
• That a catch-up plan be developed for learners in the foundation phase, and implemented throughout the 2013 school year.
All documents related to this matter, including the DBE’s answering affidavit can be found on our website: www.section27.org.za.
This matter will be heard in the North Gauteng High Court on 2 October 2012.
For more comment, please contact Mark Heywood on heywood@section27.org.za or 083 634-8806 or Nikki Stein on stein@section27.org.za or (082) 528 7232.
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PRESS RELEASE DBE-SECTION27 in court on 2 Oct 2012 FINAL