Limpopo pupils ready, dept claims
2012-09-17 22:37
Johannesburg - Limpopo pupils are ready for the Annual National Assessments despite not having textbooks for most of the year, the provincial education department said on Monday.
"We are not condoning late textbooks, but we've said that the issue hasn't been a such a major defect to the point that it would hamper our learners on that level," said spokesman Pat Kgomo.
The tests, which assess pupils in grades one to six as well as grade nine, were expected to start on Wednesday.
The Democratic Alliance in the province said the pupils were not ready for the tests as they had been without textbooks for most of the year.
"Learners in Limpopo will not be ready because textbooks were delivered some seven months late into the academic year and some schools are reportedly still without textbooks," said the DA's Desiree van der Walt on Monday.
She said the tests would show what pupils knew and did not know.
On the outcome of the results, the education authorities would focus on schools that were struggling.
"This will be hard to achieve in Limpopo, as our learners were not provided with learning material on time."
Kgomo said, however, that the department was confident the pupils would do well in the tests.
"We are confident we will reach the target of 40% from last years' 35%," he said.
When the education department failed to deliver textbooks to Limpopo schools, Section27 took the matter to court.
In May through an interdict the department was ordered to deliver the textbooks by 15 June.
The date was then extended to 27 June.
However, some schools in that province said they had still not received textbooks.
- SAPA
