Councillors step in as textbooks shortages bite

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.”