BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Government says Baobab Primary School in Chamabondo, Victoria Falls, has not received Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) funds since 2013 because the school had not been submitting the required allocation forms to the BEAM Management Unit.
The issue was raised in Parliament by Hwange West legislator Vusumuzi Moyo, who asked the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare when the school would finally receive its BEAM allocation after more than a decade without funding.
Responding in the National Assembly, Deputy Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Mercy Dinha said investigations had revealed that the school had not been forwarding the necessary paperwork required for processing BEAM payments.
“The issue at Baobab Primary School in your constituency has been noted and investigated. We have discovered that the school was not submitting their BEAM allocation forms to the BEAM Management Unit, hence no payment was made,” Dinha told Parliament.
She said the ministry had since reached out directly to the school and provided guidance on how to correct the problem.
“My Ministry has now reached out directly to them and provided guidance to ensure they rectify this anomaly,” she said.
Dinha added that once the required application forms are submitted, Government would process payments and clear outstanding arrears together with allocations due to other schools.
“Once we receive the application forms, payments shall be effected and arrears cleared along with other schools,” she said.
The deputy minister also told Parliament that Government was developing a BEAM Management Information System aimed at improving administration of the programme and reducing delays associated with manual paperwork.
“Importantly, we are developing a BEAM Management Information System that will be made available to all schools. This system will streamline the BEAM allocation process and reduce the administrative burden of submitting physical forms directly to BEAM Management Units,” Dinha said.
She said authorities hoped the new digital system would improve efficiency and ensure schools receive allocations more promptly.
Baobab Primary School serves the Chamabondo area in Victoria Falls, where many families rely on social assistance programmes such as BEAM to keep children in school amid economic hardships.
The BEAM programme was introduced to assist orphans and vulnerable children with school fees and other educational support. However, schools across Zimbabwe have repeatedly complained over delayed disbursements and administrative challenges affecting the scheme.