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Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube addresses the 2030 Reading Panel annual event on February 24, 2026.
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has commended Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube for demanding accountability in the awarding of a R285 million textbook tender.
Gwarube has written to the National Treasury after reports that publishing company Lighthouse Publishers Limited was awarded the tender to provide textbooks for Grades one to three.
The company was allegedly registered three days after the contract specifications were issued.
Makaneta says it is disturbing that the allegation comes at a time when inequality in schools is deepening.
He says, “We support the request for the National Treasury to investigate this matter fully and openly. The concerns that have been raised are very serious. They speak to the need for honesty and fairness in how public money is handled.”
“The future of our children depends on decisions that are taken in this regard. A textbook is not just paper and ink; it is a tool of freedom, it carries knowledge into classrooms where hope is often in short supply.”
Makaneta adds: “When textbooks do not arrive on time, it is the child in the classroom who pays the price. It is the teacher who struggles.”
VIDEO | Gwarube calls for a probe into textbook tender:
