The same applies to the Grade 2, 3 and 10 learners who were going to receive textbooks but had only received free textbooks in mathematics and science - Quintiles 1 to 5.
I wish to say that we have learnt hard lessons from the experience in Limpopo. Indeed, the appropriate and necessary steps are being taken to ensure that we never again repeat this failure or let this failure to deliver textbooks on time recur. We have listened to you as you raised your concerns and you should surely have the dignity to allow us to respond and explain.
Given the important challenges of literacy and numeracy in this country, one must at least recognise that today 56 million workbooks are being delivered to Grade 1 to 9 learners across the country, including the Western Cape, where the books are being delivered to schools. Today, as we look at the challenges of the infrastructure that we have to establish at schools, we notice that 27 schools are being closed in the Western Cape, while 49 are being built in the Eastern Cape. This is part of the effort to address the enormous challenges that we face in the system of education.
Today we have to recognise that every child among the 8,75 million children who go to school receives a meal every day. We have to recognise that in the context of the poverty and huge economic challenges that we face, more than 8 million children in our schools go to no-fee schools, where they are not expected to pay any fees. We have to recognise that more than 400 000 learners are being transported to school daily. We have to recognise that more than 1 000 schools are in partnership with the SA Police Service to ensure that we create an environment that is conducive to learning - that does not detract from the enormous challenges that we have in literacy and numeracy.
Basically, never before has any government been able to deliver books at the rate that we are, in order to enhance literacy and numeracy. Never before has this government, or any other, been able to test more than 6 million children on literacy and numeracy. Next month, every child between Grade 1 and 6 is, again, going to be tested on literacy and numeracy so that we can determine precisely whether they have made progress or not and what kind of interventions need to be made. I raise this in the context of the fact that yes, indeed, what occurred in Limpopo was not right and it cannot be condoned or defended.
Certainly, we are going to learn lessons from this experience and ensure that it does not repeat itself. However, we cannot be blind to other realities; where efforts are being made to ensure that quality education is being provided. We have always argued that the right to basic education is an unqualified right. We should certainly take every step to ensure that this is indeed provided to our children.
With regard to the UDM, it's quite interesting that we have received ... [Interjections.]