Sunday News
4 July 2010
By Vincent Gono
ABOUT 110 000 out of a total of 338 000 students failed to register for the Ordinary and Advanced levels November examinations and the possibility of the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) allowing them to sit for examinations without paying is very slim as Government owes the examination board US$5 million in unpaid examination fees.
In an interview with the Sunday News last Thursday, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said his ministry was working together with Zimsec to try and have underprivileged candidates sit for examinations under the Basic Education Assistance Model (BEAM)’s estimated US$1,8 million set aside for assisting needy candidates.
He said his ministry was still working on the number of candidates who can be assisted by the fund.
However, fears are that the Beam amount is insufficient to register the 110 000 Ordinary and Advanced levels candidates who failed to register for this year’s examinations.
Sen Coltart said this year 210 000 candidates managed to register for the Ordinary Level November examination, an improvement from last year’s 137 000.
For the Advanced Level examination there was an improvement of 2 000 as 27 000 managed to register as compared to the 25 000 who registered last year.
“This year a total of 110 000 candidates failed to register for both their Ordinary and Advanced levels November examinations. We are, however, working with Zimsec to try and bail out all those students who are underprivileged and could not afford to register through the Beam fund. An estimated figure of US$1,8 million will be put aside to assist the underprivileged.
“I do not have the figures with me right here. We are still working out as of how many children can be assisted under the Beam fund,†he said.
He reiterated that it was Government’s desire to enable all the Ordinary and Advanced levels candidates to write their examinations, adding that although there was a slight improvement in the figures of those who managed to register this year compared to last year a lot still needed to be done to put back on track the education system of the country.
He said despite the slight improvement, government still had a long way to go in reviving the slowly but surely collapsing education system that was once the envy of many.
In an a telephone interview on the Beam fund, the Minister of Labour and Social Services, Ms Paurina Mpariwa, said out of the US$15 million that was reserved for secondary schools US$1,8m would be used for examination fees.
She said the fund was meant to benefit vulnerable children who could not afford to register, adding that a selection committee was put on the ground to select and assess the vulnerability and then approve the child for assistance.
She said it was too early for people to conclude that the amount set aside was inadequate, adding that people should not rush to discredit Government.
“Of the US$15 million that is meant to assist secondary schoolchildren under Beam we have put aside US$1,8 million for examination fees. It is meant for the vulnerable children only and the same conditions of application apply when one is applying for the fees to be covered by Beam.
“There are teams that will be doing the selection and the assessment to see to it that only those who deserve to be assisted benefit from the fund. I think it is too early to rush to the conclusion that the amount set aside is inadequate since it has not yet been exhausted. The money will not be in the form of hard currency but will be transferred to the relevant authority through the bank,†she said.
A source from Zimsec, however, said Government should settle its US$5 million debt with the examination board, arguing that Zimsec was only legally enforcing what the Government had deliberated on and put in place.
“As Zimsec we are not there to try and make life difficult for anyone. We want all the students eligible to write their examinations provided they pay the fees that was agreed and approved by cabinet. We do not know how they are going to make last year’s candidates, who were allowed to sit for their examinations pay. All we want is our money and we are saying if they are trying to talk us into allowing those that cannot pay to write we are afraid we are not going to agree,†said the source at Zimsec.
Last year the Government allowed students to sit for public examination without paying registration fees on the understanding that the fees would be paid later but some parents reneged on the promise to pay and Zimsec is now pressing hard on the Government to pay the US$5 million it is owed in unpaid examination fees from last year.
The payment of the debt seems to be shrouded in a mist of conjecture and dispute with Minister Coltart saying the money will be released by Treasury while the Minister of Finance, Mr Tendai Biti, has been quoted saying examination issues were the responsibility of the education ministry which can only be allocated funds through the national budget.
Sen Coltart, however, said the Government had not shifted from its yesteryear position that makes it mandatory for children to be accorded a decent education, adding that his ministry was doing everything with the available little resources to ensure underprivileged students get the necessary assistance.