Zimbabwe’s Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) funding crisis came under renewed scrutiny in Parliament last week, with MPs raising concerns over prolonged payment delays, shortages of learning materials and poor examination results at some rural schools.
The debate on Wednesday last week, focused on the impact of outstanding BEAM payments on schools that rely heavily on government support to educate children from poor and vulnerable households.
Jabulani Hadebe told the National Assembly that information available to him indicated that about 80 percent of learners in some rural schools depend on BEAM, while schools had gone for prolonged periods without receiving the funds.
He said schools were increasingly dependent on contributions from the minority of parents who could afford to pay school fees.
“Some schools have recorded 0% pass rates at Grade 7 and O level as a result of inadequate funding, shortages of learning materials and deteriorating learning conditions,” Hadebe said.
He asked Government what measures were being taken to address the continued failure to disburse BEAM funds, particularly to rural schools.
The issue comes against the background of a reported US$292,492,316.46 in cumulative BEAM arrears, with the outstanding payments dating back to 2023.
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Edwin Moyo acknowledged that BEAM arrears were outstanding, saying payments depended on money being released by Treasury.
“BEAM has not been paid for quite some time. However, we continue to pay as we receive money from the Treasury,” Moyo told Parliament.
Moyo said his ministry had received just under ZiG90 million during 2026. He said most of the payments had gone towards special schools, where payments were “almost 100%”.
Regular schools, however, were still far from that level.
“BEAM is really dependent on releases from the Treasury,” Moyo said, adding that his ministry was engaging the Ministry of Finance to accelerate disbursements because “schools are indeed suffering.”
The minister said the number of learners currently covered by BEAM stood at about 1.5 million nationally.
He also told MPs that Government had completed an audit of the programme following concerns over the targeting of beneficiaries. According to Moyo, complaints had been raised that some people who did not qualify were benefiting from the programme.
A social registry is also being developed to improve beneficiary targeting and digitise the process.
No date given for clearing arrears
Hadebe followed up by asking when Government would clear the outstanding BEAM obligations and provide schools with predictable funding to buy learning materials and support teaching and learning.
He also asked whether Government would investigate schools that had recorded 0% pass rates in rural areas, including the possible impact of teacher shortages, inadequate learning materials, infrastructure challenges and chronic funding problems.
He further sought assurance that children in rural schools would not be academically disadvantaged because their families could not afford school fees.
Moyo said he could not commit to a date for the complete clearance of BEAM arrears.
“I would not commit myself to that,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Finance had committed to reducing the arrears and accelerating disbursements.
On the reported 0% pass rates, Moyo said the issue fell under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
“On the 0% pass rate, that falls under the direct purview of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to investigate and also appraise their findings. I will not delve into that area,” he said.
Moyo also said teacher shortages were influenced by several factors, including teacher-pupil ratios and the need for Treasury approval before additional teachers could be employed.
He cited some rural and farming-area schools with only 15 to 20 learners but operating from ECD to Grade 7, saying such circumstances made it difficult to deploy teachers according to established ratios.
‘Who would have paid for the chalks and books?’
The frustration among MPs continued when Spencer Tshuma said BEAM had been debated in Parliament for a long time.
Tshuma said some schools were reporting that they were owed about US$20,000 or more dating back to 2022.
He questioned how schools could continue providing basic learning materials when BEAM payments remained outstanding.
“If that money has not been paid and the children are still going to school, who would have paid for the chalks and books?” Tshuma asked.
Moyo said the matter was largely a Treasury responsibility.
“The responsibility of my Ministry is that after we have received the money, we then disburse it,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker subsequently directed Tshuma to put the question to the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.
MPs call for ministerial statement
The issue then prompted a call for the Finance Minister to appear before Parliament and explain the Government’s position on BEAM.
Edwin Mushoriwa raised a point of order, saying Parliament needed a ministerial statement on whether Government remained committed to the programme.
He referred to an 8% disbursement rate cited in the Mid-Term report and argued that MPs were putting the responsible minister under pressure over an issue that was largely outside his control.
“We request that the Minister should come before this august House and explain the answer on issues about the BEAM,” Mushoriwa said.
The Deputy Speaker said the issue had been noted.
US$292 million in outstanding BEAM obligations
The latest parliamentary debate follows figures presented in August showing that cumulative BEAM arrears had reached US$292,492,316.46.
The arrears date back to 2023, when BEAM supported more than 1.8 million beneficiaries, with outstanding obligations continuing to accumulate in subsequent years.
Treasury has made payments towards the backlog during 2026, including funds directed towards special schools and examination-fee arrears, but the latest parliamentary debate indicates that significant outstanding obligations remain.
The September debate also highlighted the difference between special schools and regular schools. While Moyo said payments to special schools were almost fully up to date, regular schools remained significantly behind.
BEAM was established to support children from vulnerable households who cannot afford school fees.
The parliamentary debate has now brought another dimension of the programme into focus: the effect that delayed payments may have on schools themselves.
While MPs linked funding shortages, learning-material shortages and deteriorating conditions to poor results in some rural schools, Government did not confirm that BEAM arrears were responsible for the reported 0% pass rates.
Instead, the Social Welfare Minister referred the issue of examination performance to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.