The Democratic Alliance backs Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s decision to stop the new Grade 1-3 textbook catalogue from being used next year after an independent investigation confirmed serious problems with the process through which it was developed.
When concerns about the new textbook catalogue emerged, Minister Gwarube ordered an independent investigation to establish what had gone wrong.
That investigation has now confirmed serious problems with the process that need to be resolved.
The Minister has therefore kept the new textbook catalogue on hold and sought independent legal advice through the State Attorney and Senior Counsel to determine what action should follow from the investigation.
This is the responsible thing to do.
No Minister could simply ignore serious concerns about a process involving public money. And solving the issue should also not disrupt the education of children or leave schools without the books they need in 2027.
That is why provinces and schools will still be able to order from the existing list of approved Foundation Phase textbooks and learning materials for next year while the problems with the new catalogue are properly addressed. The DA backs this move.
The choice should never be between good governance and getting textbooks into classrooms. South Africans have every right to expect government to do both.
The Foundation Phase is where children build the literacy and numeracy skills on which the rest of their education depends. Minister Gwarube has therefore acted to protect both the integrity of the process and the interests of learners.
Minister Gwarube identified a problem, investigated it, acted on the findings, sought independent legal advice on what must happen next, and put an interim solution in place to protect the 2027 school year.
That is what responsible government looks like.
The DA commends Minister Gwarube for putting learners first while protecting public funds and ensuring that serious concerns are properly dealt with.
The DA will continue to exercise oversight through Parliament as this process unfolds.