Education ministry seeks control of BEAM to end payment delays

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education says there are proposals to remove the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and place it directly under the education ministry to allow faster disbursement of funds to schools. This proposal comes amid persistent delays in BEAM payments to schools and the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC), which have disrupted learning and examinations for thousands of vulnerable pupils across the country. Currently, the Treasury releases BEAM funds to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare as part of its social services budget, which then transfers funds to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, that disburses them to schools.

However, this multi-step process has resulted in chronic delays, leaving schools without fees for BEAM-supported learners and exposing marginalised children to exclusion from education. Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Taungana Ndoro, confirmed that discussions are underway to restructure the flow of BEAM funding. “The issue of BEAM is that the budget line item rests in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare as a social services fund in that ministry,” Ndoro said.

“We actually have to wait for that money to come from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to come to us and then we disburse to our schools. What we only do with BEAM funds is receive the money and send it to the schools.” Ndoro said failure to receive funds means the ministry is unable to pay schools. “If we have not received it, we can’t send it to the school,” he said.

[paywall]

While this proposal is under consideration, Ndoro said the government has set up a tripartite committee comprising the Deputy Ministers of Finance, Public Service and Education to address the bottlenecks. “So now there’s a tripartite team committee that has been set up, who are now discussing to say, ‘Treasury, could you release the BEAM funds? The BEAM funds go to the Public Service Ministry and then the Public Service Ministry sends it to us,’” Ndoro said. “There are negotiations around that as I am speaking.”

[/paywall]