By Staff Reporter
Picture: Sourced
The Northern Cape Department of Education (NCDOE) strives to ensure that learning and teaching
occur from day one when schools reopen in January 2023.
Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) resources are essential to effectively running,
forming an integral and vital part of our education system. Managing, utilising and maintaining this
valuable resource will afford access and support to delivering quality education.
Schools issue textbooks to learners at the beginning of each year. It is compulsory for learners who
receive textbooks to complete, sign and return the loan forms. Parents are requested to supervise
this process.
The learner and parent/guardian must ensure that the LTSM loaned to learners is kept in good
condition and returned to the school when required. Some schools prefer to retrieve textbooks
quarterly as that will give them an idea of the number of lost or damaged books.
LTSM retrieval for the Northern Cape Department of Education is vital to ensure that state resources
are used efficiently and effectively. Learners are not accepting accountability in preserving LTSM
allocated to them. Educators accept damage and non-return of LTSM. They do not consider the
exercise of retrieving such material as serious.
Furthermore, the low retrieval rate impacts the already constrained budget allocations and the
quality of education.
As the 2022 school academic year speedily draws to a close, the Department wants to call on all role
players and the community to join the 100% RETRIEVAL OF TEXTBOOKS campaign. By reminding all
learners to return textbooks for the benefit of other learners in the Province.
It is the Governments priority to provide textbooks for all learners to have a textbook for every
subject in every Grade.
It is a requisite for school resources to be protected and valued. Money that could have been used
for new innovation has to be used to replace torn books, including those kept at home.
Learners are encouraged to take good care of the textbooks. Parents are requested to take
responsibility to safeguard that their children act responsibly. All textbooks loaned to their children
are returned before the end of the year.
Principals must ensure 100% retention by following the Department Circular 45 of 2020 as guidance.
A reporting regime from schools will allow the Provincial Department to assess the retrieval rate at
the end of the year.
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