BEAM A Government Scheme To Avoid State-Funded Education - Masaraure
Obert Masaraure, the president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), has called on the government to improve the management and implementation of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme.
In an interview with CITE, Masaraure highlighted concerns that the current BEAM administration is negatively impacting the day-to-day operations of schools.
Masaraure urged the government to disburse BEAM funds in a more timely manner and to deposit the monies directly into school accounts from the treasury.
He argued that the current practice of channelling BEAM funds through multiple government ministries creates loopholes for corruption and mishandling of the funds. He said:
Unfortunately, BEAM has been reduced to a mere scheme used by the government to avoid providing state-funded education.
Why are we not having direct tuition grants for all learners paid directly to schools to benefit all learners?
There are many financial obligations that the government is failing to meet in terms of education service delivery.
Learners need sanitary pads in schools, and stationery, and learning institutions need funds to meet overhead expenses.
But we have a government notorious for not meeting its financial responsibilities due to corruption.
Masaraure also said the funds allocated to schools are insufficient to meet demands, as the allocation falls significantly short of the recommendations outlined in the Dakar Declaration. He said:
According to the Dakar declaration, we should be getting at least 20 per cent of the national budget and at least nine per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
But as it stands, we are only getting 17 per cent for the entirety of the education sector, tertiary education included.
He said the government should increase allocated funds and devolve education management to provincial levels. Said Masaraure:
As ARTUZ, we proposed a financing model that the government can adopt to ensure adequate financing in schools.
Primary and secondary schools must have their own allocation, and tertiary education must have its own. We should not be bundled together because our needs are different.
The government must also devolve the management of schools to provincial and regional levels.
Communities must have a say in how their schools are run. We cannot have everything centralized in Harare; this hampers service delivery for us.
The government introduced BEAM in 2001 to support children from poor and vulnerable families to enrol and remain in primary and secondary school.
BEAM covers the payment of tuition fees, examination fees, and levies for eligible students from low-income households.
The programme targets orphans, children from child-headed households, those with disabilities, as well as children from chronically poor families who cannot afford school fees.
BEAM is administered by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, in partnership with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
It aims to improve access to education and reduce dropout rates among vulnerable children who might otherwise be unable to attend school due to financial constraints.
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