An inter-ministerial subcommittee has been set up by the Government to address issues relating to delays in the disbursement of Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) funds, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo has revealed.
Some schools have gone for more than one year without receiving payments, a situation that hampers the smooth running of schools.
Moyo addressed school heads in Bulawayo at St Columbus High School on Thursday where he allowed the National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH), National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) and Independent Colleges to make submissions on issues that need to be addressed.
The associations raised issues around non-payment of fees, teacher remuneration, and staffing levels.
Moyo told the school heads that the Government has taken steps to address the challenges caused by delays in the payment of BEAM funds. He said (via The Herald):
We also have BEAM facilities and the concerns raised by NAPH and NASH are legitimate that the trend has been that the Ministry of Finance has been delaying the disbursement of BEAM funds.
The year 2024 is the year of African education and we have made an engagement with the Minister of Finance (Prof Mthuli Ncube).
We have actually established sub-committees to look into quick disbursement of BEAM funds.
Just yesterday, the first meeting of that sub-committee was held and our Permanent Secretary (Mr Mike Mhike) was in attendance.
Moyo said Deputy Finance Minister, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, will chair the subcommittee.
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Angeline Gata and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Mercy Dinha will be members of the committee. Said Moyo:
In some schools you last got BEAM payment in the first term of 2023 and in some schools, BEAM payment has taken two years. It’s not right.
We are going to solve that issue and because we are in that year of our education as Africans, we are going to come up with new modalities that will result in quick disbursements of BEAM funds.
The ZANU PF-led Government has a habit of promising free education in the run-up to general elections but the promises are soon forgotten after the polls and schools will have another inconvenience of receiving BEAM funds long after they have been eroded by inflation.
More: Pindula News