Hon Speaker, there have been three statements in relation to Cosas and one in relation to football and the Fifa-backed initiative.
I will firstly deal with the Fifa-backed initiative and endorse the excitement that the department feels in relation to this initiative. I would also like to draw the attention of the hon Speaker and the House to the fact that one of the heritage projects from which we derived benefit, as the Department of Basic Education in collaboration with the Departments of Sport and Recreation and Arts and Culture, was the one in which more than 6 000 of our schools participated in the football initiative through a tournament that provided opportunities for the under-18s and under-16s boys and girls and for special learners in three different categories.
The level of participation meant that more than 200 000 of our learners were able to play football as part of the legacy and initiative related to the Fifa event that took place in our country.
With regard to Cosas, Cabinet pronounced very strongly that Cosas should indeed speak to the educational authorities and that it certainly has no authority or right to enter schools and disrupt examinations.
The Minister of Basic Education had been very clear and stated quite unequivocally that we were not going to postpone the preliminary examinations. She further stated that it would be preposterous or ludicrous, as hon Shilowa says, to expect free marks to be awarded to these learners. The statement by the Minister was clear in what it announced.
The hon members should also take into account that these incidents didn't occur throughout the country, but only occurred in three provinces. The department, in collaboration with the SA Police Service, immediately responded to the challenges that we were faced with in those schools to ensure that the security of the learners was safeguarded. Furthermore, it was made clear that this delinquency would be dealt with using the full might of the law. Indeed, that is what is going to occur.
With regard to the issue of the recovery plan, this had started long before the industrial action. We, as the department were aware, that the Fifa World Cup would result in extended holidays.
Indeed, all nine provinces are taking steps to ensure that they provide for initiatives, which include Saturday classes and in some instances Saturday and Sunday classes, as well as additional tuition and resource materials for the learners. [Interjections.]