The team includes ministers Angie Motshekga (basic education), Pravin Gordhan (finance), Jeff Radebe (justice and constitutional development), Blade Nzimande (higher education) and Richard Baloyi (public service and administration).

Provincial MECs would also form part of the task team, which would meet again in six weeks. The team said problems facing the province included the need to prepare Grade 12 students for their final year exams, and decentralising the nutritional plan.

This would require facilities for cooking, utensils, acquiring the correct quality and quantity of food, as well as financial management and accountability.

The team found the shortage of stationery, textbooks and furniture a “matter of extreme urgency”.

Getting children to schools, when many of them lived in remote areas with no access to alternative transport, was a bugbear that needed to be dealt with.

Other problems involved filling vacant posts at schools with special needs students, reversing irregular salary increases and filling substitute posts on time.

Qoboshiyane said: “We appeal for the restoration of mutual trust and discipline as cardinal principles of education so that our province will improve pass rates in all school grades, and have proper and prudent teaching.”

Zuma was upbeat on Tuesday that the province's beleaguered education system would soon be improved.