THE British government has come to the rescue of Zimbabwe’s 250 000 less-privileged primary school children after pledging a $10 million bailout for the government’s Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) programme.
BY STAFF REPORTER
The money is an addition to the already existing $27 million offered by the United Kingdom towards the country’s Beam programme during the period 2012-2013.
The $10 million grant, unveiled on Wednesday and disbursed through the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID), commences next month.
Head of DfiD in Zimbabwe, Jane Rintoul, said the grant was in response to a recent appeal by the government for funding of the scheme.
“The UK is very pleased to be able to provide this additional support which I know will make a huge difference to the lives of the children who will benefit along with their families and wider communities,” she said.
According to Rintoul, the new cash injection will benefit pupils in 5 415 primary and special schools countrywide.
The DfID added: “The UK’s contribution to Beam will be managed through Crown Agents who will work closely with Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to monitor the delivery of funds.
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“The UK through DfID expects to invest some $650 million in the four years between 2011 and 2015 to help ensure that the poorest people in Zimbabwe have access to basic services such as education, health, water and sanitation, of which around $100 million will be in the education sector.”
President Robert Mugabe’s government, a strong critic of British foreign policy towards Zimbabwe, recently swallowed its pride and extended a begging bowl to the former colonial master after nearly a million orphans and underprivileged children risked dropping out of primary education for non-payment of tuition.
This follows the scrapping of a $73 million grant availed under the donor-based Beam.
Beam was mainly funded by the international donor community.
The programme, however, nearly collapsed this year after most of the funders pulled out, leaving government with the unenviable burden of meeting the $73 million needed to cover this school year.
The fund received a paltry $15 million under Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa’s 2014 National Budget, just enough to support the education of 83 000 secondary school pupils.
