adminDumisani Sibanda Sunday News Correspondent
SCHOOLS should not turn away pupils under the Basic Education Assistance Module even if they have not been paid under the programme as they will be refunded when Government raises the money, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde Prisca Mupfumira has said. In an interview on Thursday — on the sidelines of the official opening of the National Building Society Bulawayo branch, Cde Mupfumira, said the Beam programme has not been shelved.
“The Beam programme is there under my ministry,” she said. “However, as a result of liquidity challenges we are facing, we have not been able to make disbursements for Beam. That does not mean that pupils under the programme should be sent away (from school). The pupils should continue learning and the schools will be paid those arrears by Government once the money is there. In fact, there is a Government directive that children should not be turned away because of inability to pay fees.”
Cde Mupfumira said it has come to her attention that most schools and the surrounding communities were no longer carrying out assessments to ensure they capture new beneficiaries that deserve support under Beam.
“The schools and the communities because they work together on this should continue making the assessments and putting the deserving candidates under Beam because we want all children to be accorded education,” she said. “Under Beam the target is 500 000 pupils. As I said as Government we will pay the money that schools are owed under Beam, once the liquidity situation improves.”
However, Cde Mupfumira was unable to say how much Government now owes schools countrywide because of lack of disbursement of funds under Beam. Some councils have complained that lack of Beam payments by Government was causing a strain on their budgets for running their schools. Established in 2001 as a key component of the Enhanced Social Protection Programme (ESPP), the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) was designed to provide quality education to children, including specific policies aimed at supporting orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
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