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*Rural Teachers' Union Says BEAM Has Failed*

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The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has said the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme has failed to cater for all schoolchildren who need financial assistance.

This year, the government set aside $4.1 billion for BEAM which caters for vulnerable children’s school fees, but only one-and-a-half million children have benefitted out of four million. In a report issued on Monday, ARTUZ said:

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> The allocation of $2 700 per child per year is too little when the cheapest school is charging an average of $125 000 per year.

> If we were to use the targeted number of 1.5 million, the 2022 allocation translates to $2 700 per year or $900 per term, a figure far from the prevailing school fees and levies.

> Furthermore, there is evidence that the Beam programme has not been reaching the targeted numbers.

> (Some) $2,294 billion was allocated for the school feeding programme targeting 6 000 schools in 2022 from 5 800 in 2021. Per capita allocation is therefore $740 per child, per year.

> What food can be secured by this paltry amount? Even if we were to feed a child with US$1 per day, we will need at least US$180 per learner per year.

Public Service minister Paul Mavima said his ministry has received a further $20 billion from Treasury and is in a position to pay fees for the beneficiaries for the second and third terms. He said:

> Fee hikes have nothing to do with BEAM. BEAM is not for boarding schools. It is mainly for primary schoolchildren and secondary schoolchildren.

> Fee hikes, therefore, do not affect Beam. We now have an allocation of $20 billion, which will ensure that we catch up for the second and third terms.

| NewsDay

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