Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma is in the Eastern Cape to assess and evaluate the functioning of government in the province.
Zuma's focus in the Eastern Cape will be especially on the on Education Department, which has been facing a number of challenges, including the shortages of classrooms and proper schools.
During the visit, the President, who is accompanied by several Cabinet ministers, will go to several schools in the Amathole District and Buffalo Metro.
He will also interact with key role players in education and in wrapping up the visit, he will take part in a special meeting with the Eastern Cape Executive Council.
"The visit is aimed at providing a hands-on assessment of the state of education in the province and to support the province which is facing difficulties in the education sector," the Presidency said on Monday.
In March, Cabinet resolved to place the Eastern Cape Education Department under administration after serious challenges in the province's education system.
Over-expenditure in the budget for remuneration of teachers is one of the major problems that has placed an enormous strain on the province's overall education budget allocation.
Other pressing education challenges include failure to provide textbooks and stationery to schools, due to poor management of the procurement process, non-functioning school nutrition programme, lack of transport for pupils and poor management of systems and school infrastructure.
Zuma will start his day-long visit at Mzomhle High School. He is accompanied by Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Collins Chabane, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and her Higher Education counterpart, Blade Nzimande.
The Ministers of Public Works, Finance, Sports, Social Development, Energy and Water Affairs, among others, are also part of the visit.
