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= Basic Education Assistance Module (Zimbabwe) =

Overview
The Basic Education Assistance Module is a donor- funded programme which was introduced by the Government of Zimbabwe in 2001, with an aim to enhance access to primary and secondary education for orphans and vulnerable children. It represents one of the five components of Zimbabwe’s Enhanced Social Protection Project (ESPP) and is administered by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Services. The policy operates on the basis of bank transfers to schools which waiver tuition and examination fees for selected beneficiaries, as well as providing levies and building assistance. The criterion for selection is defined as pupils between 6 and 19 years of age, who have previously failed to pay school fees or who have left school due to poverty. A quota of 10% of the beneficiaries must be children with disabilities. Implementation is governed locally, under the issue of local authorities, district education officers, school authorities and communities via school selection committees and other organisations such as School Development Associations, Non-Governmental Organisations and Faith-based organisations. This implementation is guided by the BEAM manual which includes a set of terms of reference.

History of Free Education in Zimbabwe
Prior to independence in 1980, education in Zimbabwe was organised by the white settler class and governed by their colonial agenda. Settler ideology emphasised values of obedience and physical labour amongst the Zimbabwean population and intellectual education was generally discouraged due to fears that educated colonised populations would learn to defy their superiors.

‘Do not waste too much time on teaching him how to speak English’ – District Commissioner at Rusape.

Zimbabwe was widely regarded as a country of explicit racial exploitation whilst under colonial reign. In 1930, the Land Apportionment Act introduced an official segregation in education, mandating that ‘Africans’ could only attend schools in Black designated areas. Access to wealthier schools in white suburbs was prohibited for Black Zimbabweans. Roger Riddell described this pre-independence education system as ‘elitist, highly selective, [..] economically wasteful.’. Inherited from this colonial policy was an education system split into three sub-groups: government, community and private. From 1966 up to independence, 2% of GNP was committed to 'African Education' and the number of Zimbabwean children who could attend government secondary schools was limited. Rigid selection systems and examination processes were enacted in order to manage attendance figures. The colonial provision of education in Zimbabwe has been described as having a ‘divisive’ effect on the population.

‘Education for the white child was compulsory and free from 1930 but for the African child, it was neither.’ - Nyagura, 1989

Upon gaining independence in April 1980, following the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, the policy ‘Education for All’ was introduced by the newly formed Government of Zimbabwe. It was largely received by the nation as a symbolic attempt to address the national educational discrimination that Black Zimbabweans had suffered under colonial rule; ‘prior to independence, education was readily accessible to only about 5 percent of the population.’. In September 1980, the Government of Zimbabwe enshrined the United Nations’ model of education as a basic human right into its national constitution, declaring that education would be both free and compulsory for all. Over the next eight years, the country saw an increase in primary school enrolment, from 819,568 to 2,251,319. The government allocated 17.3% of its total national budget to primary and secondary education services. Zimbabwe accepted financial responsibility for national education of a growing population during a time of intense economic instability.

Since 1980, the government’s aim to reduce educational inequalities in Zimbabwe by promising ‘Education for All’ has been continued with debates as to its success.

In 1991, the Zimbabwean Government introduced The Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) under the imposition Structural Adjustment Policies on the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This involved the removal of subsidies on education, health and food services, which meant financial hardships for marginalised groups of the population, including disabled peoples, women and children. In the education sector, this meant that parents were required to pay school fees which had ‘disastrous effects on the children from poor families.’ This led to an increase of families withdrawing their children from schools, and that larger proportions of the population could not obtain even basic levels of primary education.

In response to these impacts, the government’s Social Dimension Fund (SDF) introduced direct transfers for health and school payments for poor households. In 1994, administrative problems and problems of effective beneficiary selection led to a remodelling of the program.

Zvobgo critiqued the Government of Zimbabwe’s education policies in 1994, stating that, ‘although racial discrimination was removed at independence, economic discrimination continued to operate and to provide special and superior education for children from middle and upper social classes and to prepare them for superior positions in society.’ The provision of public education in Zimbabwe has also been deemed, ‘economically unsustainable’ by researchers of the Great Zimbabwe University.

The development of the Basic Education Assistance Module aimed to address the failures of previous education aid programmes, claiming a focus on efficiency and transparency as well as community participation.

Policy: Basic Education Assistance Module 2001
The Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) is a policy that aims to target the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe, who face financial barriers in accessing primary and secondary school education. It was introduced by the Government of Zimbabwe as part of the Enhanced Social Protection Project(ESPP) in 2001: “in response to worsening social conditions in the country that were causing the poor to suffer deepening multiple shocks (escalating prices of basic commodities, retrenchments and high unemployment rates, high dropouts of school children and high interest and inflation rates). The ESPP was targeted as a short-term social safety net aimed at alleviating irreversible losses to human capital in the areas of education, food security and health.”. The BEAM has been the largest education assistance programme to date in Zimbabwe, amongst non-governmental interventions by churches, communities and social organisations.

In the first few years after its introduction, the budget allocation for the programme increased, due to rising demand as well as higher school fees and operational costs. The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe was also noted, as members of the most affected age group (25-40 years) were leaving and had left children behind with no financial support. The programme continues to experience high demand as 28% of primary school age children, and 24% of secondary school age children have been found to be in need of fund assistance. BEAM emphasises the importance of primary education for all children, considering evidence that families living in poverty are likely to withdraw their youngest children from schools as the first step to reducing financial hardships.

The programme received initial financial assistance from the World Bank through its poverty alleviation scheme, under the educational funding component.

BEAM is under the Social Dimensions Fund (SDF) administration within the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. In each regional ward, the Councillor and the Child Protection Committee governs a meeting with households of the school’s catchment area. Nominations are made for potential beneficiaries of all ages, based on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children register. Submissions from the community are also considered. The agreed list of beneficiaries is then presented to both the District Education Officer and the District Social Welfare Officer who jointly verify the nominations against the allocated budget officials alongside Social Welfare Officers and the School Psychological Services. Following this, the list is sent to the Ministry of Labour and Social Services BEAM Project Management Unit as well as the local authority and Regional Director of Education. This process is carried out on a biannual basis.

The selection process for the Basic Education Assistance Module is community-oriented, contrary to previous approaches which relied on individual application from prospective beneficiaries. This bottom-up process is supported by literature on poverty alleviation; however the programme has also received wide criticism on its effectiveness in reaching the most vulnerable members of the population.

Since the programme’s introduction, Zimbabwe has experienced long-term socio-economic crisis which has led to an increase in the volume of people in need of financial assistance from the government. This has impacted the number of primary and secondary school aged children who experience difficulties in paying school fees. In 2011, the Zimbabwe Early Learning Assessment (ZELA) estimated that 25% of children attending primary and secondary schools were Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs). In the same year, the BEAM evaluation report found that approximately 1 million children of school going age (out of a total of 3.6 million) fit the selection criteria for the fund. The BEAM Evaluation report 2011 found that whilst 28% of primary school children were in need of financial assistance, an estimated 16% of school children actually received funds (TARSC, ZIMTA, 2012). Similarly, amongst secondary school children, it was reported that 24% were found to be in need of assistance whilst 17% received these funds.

Implementation: Gaps in the Basic Education Assistance Module
Zimbabwe has achieved high literacy rates since the introduction of the Basic Education Assistance Module and the programme has been reportedly, ‘valued by beneficiaries and schools,’ but it has also received extensive criticism.

BEAM represents a targeting approach within social policy. The programme aims to provide financial benefits exclusively to those who are most vulnerable to poverty and therefore unable to access education. Those who advocate for a universalist approach to education policies criticise BEAM’s approach, highlighting the risk of both type one errors, whereby those who are in need do not receive benefits, and type two errors, whereby benefits are mistakenly given to those who are not in need. The selection process for beneficiaries of the Basic Education Assistance Module has been criticised by independent reviewers. A pilot survey conducted by the, ‘Training and Research Support Centre’ (TARSC) has described the process as ‘cumbersome and prone to manipulation’ and also questioned the transparency of the programme’s administration in certain schools. In terms of gender sensitivity, a 2012 review of the BEAM policy found equal representation of boys and girls amongst its beneficiaries. This indicates Zimbabwe’s adherence to the Article 10 of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which was ratified by the country in 1997. ZANU-PF Masvingo Proportional Representative MP Cde Emma Ncube criticises the module, stating that the selection of BEAM beneficiaries is 'marred with corruption and nepotism' . In 2020, she called for increased transparency within the system on all levels.

'The issue of BEAM is a painful one. It is not all the disadvantaged children who are benefitting from BEAM because of corruption. To be honest, those people who select children to fall under BEAM end up taking their relatives’ children and making sure they benefit from BEAM leaving out the intended beneficiaries who are less privileged.'

She advocates a system under which selection of pupils for BEAM is done by ‘people who are not stationed in that particular area,’ so as to avoid this potential bias.

It has been widely reported that the BEAM programme has not received sufficient funding since its introduction. This coincides with Zimbabwe’s limited ‘fiscal space’ as a result of national economic instability. Throughout the nation’s socio-economic crisis, the Government of Zimbabwe kept their social protection coverage and actual expenditures rates low, leading to increased pressure on the BEAM programme to support the most vulnerable children through education with minimal funds. TARSC reports that this lack of funding has caused ‘operational challenges,’ particularly for schools with large numbers of students relying on the programme, and has left 44% of potential beneficiaries not receiving financial support. Advocates for a universal approach within social policy highlight the cost inefficiency of programmes which use targeting to select beneficiaries, pointing out the high administrative costs. Apart from government funding, the Basic Education Assistance Module has received funds and material support from the National AIDS Council and the United National Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). This has raised concerns around governance of the allocation of BEAM funds. Regional implementation of rules and systems to monitor BEAM funds are found to be a problem, with auditing being a challenge. 65% of schools surveyed by TARSC reported not having any manual which related to how BEAM funds should be accounted. TARSC emphasises the importance of ensuring that the programme’s implementation is monitored by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW), the parent ministry and other funding agencies in maintaining a fair selection of beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries of BEAM have also been subject to delayed fee transfers to their schools, with several reports having emerged of pupils being sent back home from school as a result. These children miss out on sometimes multiple days of their education and become vulnerable to social exclusion. In 2019, it was found that 15,919 children had to leave school altogether as a result of financial difficulties, despite national implementation of BEAM.

An independent review of the efficacy of the Basic Education Assistance Module notes that the programme largely emphasises the provision of material support and fee payments for compulsory subjects. The fund has been found to focus on the essential educational needs of vulnerable children and to lack sufficient attention towards individual interests, needs and abilities. It reports that BEAM ‘[does] not take cognizance of the abilities of the children.’. This has raised concerns as to the benefits of financial aid for selected students, with the programme paying for six basic academic subjects and the students’ ability to choose which subjects varying between regions. The core subjects include English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Shona, History and Geography. When surveyed, 53% of teachers said that, ‘nothing was being done by BEAM to support individual pupils’ abilities and talents.’ An additional pupils’ survey found that approximately 67% of pupils were in need of further financial assistance in order to pursue their talents and abilities The 2003 UNICEF study found that students under the BEAM programme had little choice in curriculum selection. A review of the efficacy of the Basic Education Assistance Module by the Zimbabwe Open University noted that BEAM, ‘did not support those who were not academically gifted,’ with creative learners having little provision in schools. BEAM alongside other targeting policies have been criticised for being divisive by academics who advocate for a universalist approach in social policy.

It was found that the orphans and vulnerable children supported by BEAM were not provided with life skills training. This has called into question the intended outcomes of fulfilment and empowerment for the beneficiaries; TARSC proposes that this leaves a ‘gap for vocational training which is essential to equip and empower children.’. The study reported that BEAM did not provide other means of support for beneficiaries outside of paying tuition and examination fees.

Protests for Free Education
In reaction to these failures of the Basic Education Assistance Module to provide ‘free and compulsory education for all’ as promised by the government in 1980, there have been several instances of community action including protests and campaigns.

In 2016, the Women of Zimbabwe Arise pressure group (WOZA) organised a series of protests which highlighted the country’s failure to fulfil its promise of free education for all. The international movement, named #BoycottSchoolFees, involved over 2000 women and occurred over several months in response to numerous issues with education provision in Zimbabwe'. Citing the experiences of thousands of children who were still being removed from classes as a result of unpaid tuition fees, their principal complaint was against the government’s failure to ‘honour its constitutional obligation to provide education for all, despite the introduction of the Basic Education Assistance Module. At the time of protests, the unemployment rate amongst the Zimbabwean population was at an estimated 90%, which furthered WOZA’s purpose. Over the two months of protests against school fees and national economic hardship, over 100 arrests were made with some ending in clashes with the police.

On 19 August 2016, one day after large protests in Bulawayo, demonstrators marched to the Ministry of Education in the country’s capital city, Harare, with a petition demanding the introduction of free education for all in Zimbabwe. Despite Section 27 of the Zimbabwe Constitution which states that the government should take, ‘all practical measures to promote free and compulsory basic education for children and compulsory education and higher and tertiary education,’ WOZA points out that many students are still being denied access to basic education as a result of enforced tuition fees. The group also targeted UNICEF with their concerns.

Action groups report increasing educational disparities as the country hit economic hardship. The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Committee reported the 15% of children were not attending school due to high tuition fees, with rural populations being hit the hardest .Zimbabwe’s high school dropout rates gained attention from the international community. In 2010, UNICEF provided the country with 23 million textbooks, and helped create national school grants for students with financial difficulties (Rawles, 2016 - unable to link in wikipedia). The UK’s Department for International Development also provided financial support for the country’s education sector, announcing a donation of $37 million in 2015 (Rawles, 2016 - unable to link in wikipedia).

In January 2021, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) founded a movement in order to address the ‘deliberate exclusion of the sons and daughters of the working class from learning opportunities,’. The hashtag #SaveOurEducationZW gained traction on twitter as teachers across the country shared their protest pictures. ARTUZ president, Obert Masaraure, added that the campaign was also advocating for increased accountability for the expenditure of resources in the time of Covid-19. The organisation emphasised the disparities between rural and urban communities in education, focussing on the limited resources that rural schools had access to during the coronavirus lockdown.