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Essential school supplies seen on a desk.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education says it is working around the clock to ensure that all schools receive their stationery and textbooks before the start of the new school year.
The Department says at least 40 percent of the schools are likely to reopen on Wednesday without stationery.
This comes as teacher unions are preparing to take the department to court, over failure to deliver learner and teacher support materials before schools reopen on Wednesday.
Provincial Education spokesperson Mlungisi Mtshali says they are working hard with the service provider, to ensure that all schools have their stationery by the end of the week.
“From the 5th of January when the service provider opened, we tried to ensure that all schools do receive their stationery. But it is true that not all of them did, sitting at 60 percent of schools across the province have received their stationery. So, with the remaining 40 percent, we are trying to make sure that between today and at least the end of the week all schools would have been covered,” adds Mtshali.
Meanwhile, the Education Department says it had an engagement with the provincial Treasury about releasing outstanding basic financial allocations for schools.
Mtshali says they are confident that the department will start distributing the transfers to schools from Monday.
Related video| Teacher unions warn schools not ready for reopening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_aVyOPm-V8
