The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has attributed a shortage of textbooks at Masiphumelele High School to violent protests and a massive shack fire that occurred in the area last year.

Due to the setbacks, the school found it could not implement what it calls its Textbook Retrieval Policy.

Some of the main causes for textbook shortages include large shack fires and volatile protests in 2015 leaving textbooks in ruins.

As a result many learners failed to return their textbooks on time.

The school is calculating its shortages and will place an order as soon as possible.

Spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department Jessica Shelver says that all schools across the province should have a Textbook Retrieval Policy to ensure the return of books by their learners.

“All schools need to have a policy to make sure it retrieves at least 95% of the textbooks returned it issues. It is just unacceptable to issue large amounts of textbooks every year without getting them back,” says Shelver.

VOC