Councillors step in as textbooks shortages bite
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday January 28, 2026 06:00
On Monday this week, nominated councillor and also council education chairperson Gloria Batlang launched a textbook donation drive across all four primary schools in Tlokweng. The beneficiary schools are Mafitlhakgosi, Kgosikgosi, Batlokwa and Botsalano primary schools, each of which has over 1,000 learners. The intervention comes amid reports that shortages have reached worrying levels, forcing some schools to ask parents to purchase textbooks for their children, a move that has placed financial strain on many households. Batlang said the council’s education committee had received consistent reports from school management teams indicating that the lack of textbooks was severely affecting teaching and learning.
“As the chairperson for education in our council, I have reports that there is a serious shortage of textbooks. As a result, some primary schools have asked learners to buy their own books,” she lamented. “However, not every parent can afford textbooks, especially when a learner may need seven or more books.”
She added that the situation disproportionately affects low-income families, risking the creation of inequality amongst learners within the same classroom. According to Batlang, children who do not have access to the required materials often struggle to keep up, which ultimately affects overall academic performance.
Against this backdrop, Batlang said she decided to lead by example after calling on fellow councillors to assist schools through donations.“I felt it was important to lead by example, particularly after encouraging councillors to donate stationery and other learning materials,” she said.
As part of her commitment, Batlang announced that she would personally donate between 500 and 1,000 textbooks to each of the four primary schools every month. Meanwhile, other councillors have pledged to contribute stationery and additional educational resources where possible.
Furthermore, she said the initiative is not intended to replace government responsibility but rather to provide temporary relief while long-term solutions are explored.
“This is not to say government should not provide. This is about responding to an urgent need while broader issues are being addressed,” she said.
Batlang noted that improving access to learning materials is critical, especially given the relatively strong academic performance recorded by Tlokweng primary schools in recent years. She said the councillors’ intervention aims to sustain and further improve these results by ensuring that learners are adequately equipped.
“Our primary schools have been performing impressively, and we want to maintain and improve that standard. Learners cannot perform well if they do not have the necessary tools,” she said. In addition to addressing textbook shortages, the council is also engaging the private sector to support schools more broadly. Batlang revealed that discussions are underway with various companies to adopt schools within Tlokweng. “The council is in talks with different companies to adopt schools so that the learning environment becomes more conducive for both teachers and learners,” she said.
She explained that school adoption programme could help improve infrastructure, provide learning resources and support extracurricular activities, thereby easing the burden on both schools and parents. At the same time, Batlang stressed the importance of collaboration between the council and school management. She said the success of any intervention depends on close cooperation and clear communication. “The council and school management will be working hand in hand to ensure that resources are used effectively and that the real needs of learners are addressed,” she said.
While welcoming the initiative, some parents have expressed a concern that recurring shortages point to deeper systemic challenges in the education sector.
They argue that reliance on donations, although helpful, may not be sustainable in the long term. Educationists have also warned that persistent shortages of textbooks undermine the goal of equal access to education, particularly in public schools that cater to children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Nonetheless, Batlang maintained that councillors could not stand by while learners struggled. “As leaders, we cannot ignore what is happening on the ground. When children lack textbooks, it affects their future, and that should concern all of us,” she said.
The donation drive is expected to continue in the coming months as the council explores additional partnerships and interventions. For now, the initiative has provided relief to schools that have been grappling with limited resources, offering hope that coordinated local action can help bridge critical gaps in education delivery.