More than 532,000 students risk missing out on their Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examinations this year after the government failed to pay their fees under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM).
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, 19 September, Public Service Labour and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo said the government’s debt to ZIMSEC, accrued in respect of 2023 and 2024, has ballooned to US$6.4 million.
He said ZIMSEC was threatening to bar BEAM beneficiaries from sitting for the crucial examinations this year. Said Moyo:
An equivalent of US$6.4 million is owed to ZIMSEC as exam fees for 532,963 Grade 7, Forms 4 and Form 6 students.
Even now, I was being asked by the permanent secretary to say some students definitely are not going to write their examinations.
If we don’t give a promissory note to ZIMSEC, they will not be able to write.
Moyo said BEAM was covered in the national budget for this year but disbursement has not been done. He said:
In 2023, a partial payment was made in local currency totalling ZW$19.9 billion to cover fees for 434,705 primary school students.
However, no secondary schools were paid. Schools that submitted claims in United States dollars were not paid.
There are some schools which submitted and say ‘we were owed in USD, but that we have not paid’.
As of 2023, a total of USD$56.7 million, for primary and secondary schools, and US$83,825 for special schools remains outstanding. So we have huge arrears in 2023.
BEAM is a government program designed to support vulnerable children in accessing basic education.
The programme primarily targets orphans, and children from low-income households who struggle to afford school fees, uniforms, and other related expenses.
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