No reason to turn away BEAM pupils, government is up-to-date with fees- Minister

HON. CHIKWINYA:  What is it that is hampering the release of the money, yet the budget has already approved of the same and we are collecting taxes? 

HON. PROF. MAVIMA:  Thank you Hon. Speaker, let me thank Hon. Chikwinya for that important supplementary question.  That is why I indicated that as of the third term of 2022, we were paid up as far as BEAM payments are concerned.  As usual, beginning of the year processes that have to be done with our budget and releases of money do not come at the time as we want.  We are pushing for those releases to be done so that schools will not have problems with regard to whatever supplies they need for them to operate efficiently.  We are pushing for those funds to go to the schools and as soon as that money is made available, it will go to the schools.  I am happy that we managed to cover as much of the previous arrears as possible.  It is only this term that we have to deal with.  We are pushing for that money to go to the schools. 

HON. GONESE:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  My supplementary question to the Hon. Minister is whether he is aware that these delays in payments are not just confined to the beginning of the year when the budget is yet to be released but that there are perennial problems which have been recurring time and time again.  If the Minister is aware, is he also aware that the students concerned – apart from the adverse effect on the administration by the schools, but the students concerned are subjected to humiliation which sometimes affects the academic performance in terms of perhaps being excluded from the school?  Even if there is intervention at a later stage but this embarrassment, this inconvenience actually affects them.  If the Hon. Minister is aware of that, what steps has  the Ministry  taken to try to address these problems so that little prejudice is suffered by the students concerned?

HON. PROF. MAVIMA:  I am aware of the fact that previously it has taken long for the BEAM resources to be released to schools.  Like I indicated, at the end of last year, we managed to clear the arrears with regard to the previous obligations that we had as far as BEAM is concerned.  As to the humiliation that the Hon. Member is referring to, indeed, it is not even supposed to happen because our Heads are in full knowledge of the policy of Government not to turn away learners, not even just the BEAM learners but any learners for that purpose.  It is a policy of Government that payment arrangements have to be made with parents for learners not to be turned away so that they are not humiliated in the manner that he has referred to.

Mr. Speaker Sir, for BEAM, it is a crime knowing that Government is going to pay for a Head or a school authority to turn away learners.  If that happens, we need to know so that the relevant Ministry can deal with those Heads.  There is training that we give to heads on BEAM so that they understand clearly what is supposed to happen.  Once they have enrolled learners on BEAM, those learners are not supposed to be turned away from school.  The issue of humiliation is not an issue that we should deal with, especially among our Heads who are supposed to have full knowledge of how BEAM operates.  I thank you.

Hon. Members having stood up to ask supplementary questions 

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Hon. Members, I will not allow further supplementary questions.   We have dealt with this matter before.  I have once indicated that three years ago, Justice M. Cheda when he was High Court Judge, ruled that no scholars should be chased away from school.  What needs to be done is some conversation between the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministers of Education that will find some common ground on how to enforce that judgement.  So I am not allowing any further supplementary questions.

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