Only 20.7% of schools in the Eastern Cape have received textbooks for the 2021 academic year.
The provincial Department of Education assured Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education that delivery would be completed by 15 February.
Scholar transport for 124 036 pupils at 1 044 schools has been secured by the Department of Transport.
With schools set to open in two weeks' time, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education is concerned about the state of readiness of Eastern Cape schools.
The committee visited schools in the province on Thursday to assess their readiness and found only 20.7% of textbooks had been delivered thus far.
"The committee was informed that the department had only delivered stationery to 3 440 schools as of 27 January 2021, which is a 68% delivery rate. Furthermore, the committee was concerned that the department had only delivered textbooks to 20.7% of schools.