The Government is yet to disburse this year’s Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) funds to beneficiaries at Bulawayo City Council (BCC) schools.
According to the latest council minutes, the local authority’s housing and community services director Dictor Khumalo, some BEAM beneficiaries fail to get their public examinations results due to the non-payment of fees. Said Kkumalo:
Council did not receive any Beam funds as yet for 2023, while $75 931 999 was the outstanding balance for 2022 Beam allocations.
Alderman Monica Lubimbi was concerned about the non-payment of BEAM in council schools. This affected beneficiaries and their parents and guardians.
She urged the central government to pay in time so that the quality of education improves.
The chairperson (councillor Sinikiwe Mutanda) concurred. Some results of Beam beneficiaries were withheld pending full payment of all outstanding school fees.
He said council was engaging the Government at the provincial level to ensure the Beam funds are released.
BEAM was established in 2001 by the government of Zimbabwe as part of the Enhanced Social Protection Programme (ESPP) the objective was to provide basic education to everyone in Zimbabwe including students that could not afford the school fees such as Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
This was part of the policy of the government as well as global agreements that the Zimbabwean government is a signatory to.
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