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The three schools, Goromonzi High (Mashonaland East), Plumtree High (Matabeleland South) and Mutare Girls High in Manicaland Province, are part of the 20 schools that were identified when the programme was mooted in 2010.
In an interview on Thursday, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said the enrolment of pupils under the programme would start in January.
He said the ministry had started refurbishing the infrastructure in the three identified schools to ensure the programme becomes a success.
“Progress has initially been slow but we have finally managed to make some inroads and we will be starting in January. We have identified three pilot schools, Goromonzi High, Plumtree High and Mutare Girls High,” said Minister Coltart.
“At this stage we are working on the required resources, doing some refurbishment and setting up the scholarship for the pupils.”
Early this year, the Government secured 2,4 million euros from the German government towards the establishment of Academies of Excellence.
The money translates to about US$3 million.
The programme idea was initiated in 2010 to ensure rapid and sustainable recovery and development of the education system, with 20 schools being identified for the project.
Under the programme, each province has two schools chosen for the programme whose first phase was expected to run from January 2011 until 2017.
However, the programme was deferred indefinitely as the Government cited inadequate preparedness and lack of funding.
Minister Coltart is on record saying the 2,4 million euros was not enough to finance the full implementation of the project, which required about $40 million as each school would require about $2 million.
The $2 million per school would cater for scholarships for approximately 600 students, teacher incentives, upgrading and expansion of physical infrastructure, information technology programmes and other administrative costs.
Eveline Girls High and Milton Boys High schools were chosen as Academies of Excellence in Bulawayo.
Plumtree High and Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo High were identified in Matabeleland South.
In Matabeleland North, Binga Secondary and Fatima High were chosen as co-education facilities for boys and girls.
The same concept of co-education is expected to apply in the Midlands, Masvingo, Mashonaland West, and Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East provinces.
The programme seeks to curtail loss of education opportunities, especially among disadvantaged students, through concrete, realistic and demonstrable returns on sufficiently focused investment in the education sector.
About 40 percent of the intake at the academies will be reserved for talented (academically) disadvantaged children.
Online Reporter