By Dennis Ndlovu | Bulawayo
The government has admitted falling behind on its Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) payments but has vowed to tighten beneficiary selection and strengthen oversight to ensure the support reaches the truly vulnerable.
Speaking at the official opening of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare’s Strategic Planning Workshop in Bulawayo, Minister Edgar Moyo said the BEAM programme, which supports underprivileged learners with school fees had been affected by economic shocks and natural disasters.
“BEAM is quite behind from 2023, 2024 and then 2025,” said Minister Moyo.
“We acknowledge that debt, but it has not been out of neglect by government. It has been occasioned by a number of factors recovery from COVID-19, droughts, and other disasters that have affected cash flows in the country.”
Despite these challenges, the Minister emphasized that the government remains committed to clearing arrears.
“This year, over ZIG 60 million has been paid to BEAM, largely directed to special schools where we have the most vulnerable of the vulnerable,” he said.
However, beyond the arrears, a hidden reform agenda is underway one that could redefine who qualifies for government educational support.
The Minister revealed that the Ministry is finalizing a new BEAM manual to curb abuse of the system by ineligible beneficiaries.
“We realized that there are people who could be benefiting from BEAM who are not supposed to,” he explained.
“We are recreating our BEAM selection manual so that it targets people who really deserve that support. We think the actual number of genuine beneficiaries is far less than the current 1.5 million,” he said.
The Minister also sent a stern reminder to school authorities, warning them against sending home learners covered under BEAM despite payment delays.
“No school should send a child away because government has undertaken to pay those fees,” he said.
“Once a learner is selected into BEAM, the responsibility to pay rests with government.”
To improve transparency, schools and School Development Committees (SDCs) will soon be trained on the new selection template, which is expected to be ready by year-end.
“We also want a small supervisory layer involving our social development officers,” Moyo added.
“They know how to determine those in need of assistance and those who are not,” Hon. Moyo said
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