As worries over undelivered Learning and Teacher Support Materials (LTSM) continue to mount, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DOE) has announced that it will deliver all outstanding LTSM to schools, as it had resumed payments. Towards the end of last year, teachers, principals and unions warned that many schools could be ill-equipped to start the school year on January 14 if LTSMs were not paid for and delivered timeously, as happened last year. However, South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) Pietermaritzburg chairperson Vishnu Naidoo said the school year is already off to a shaky start as the DoE never disclosed the official reason for payments being halted in the first place.
Naidoo added that, as far as he knows, schools across the city have not received any new stationery or textbooks from the department. “We are very concerned that the start of the new school year will be chaotic and not at all the smooth sailing start the department has promised,” he said. As Sadtu, we are concerned that we will be failing our obligation to our pupils and schools to have facilities that are equipped with resources integral to facilitating learning like stationery and workbooks.
Compounding their worries was a public spat last year between the Treasury Department and the DOE, as the DOE accused the Treasury of not approving expenditure for 2026 LTSM payments. The Treasury dismissed the claims, saying the Education Department was solely to blame for any delays in procuring LTSM. “Following an MEC management meeting held on Monday, the department has resumed the delivery of the remaining LTSM to schools with immediate effect,” said DOE spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi. He said the urgent intervention took place as the department wants a smooth start to the 2026 schooling year.
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