via Govt pressed over Beam January 20, 2014 NewsDay
THE MDC-T last Friday said the Zanu PF government should urgently find money to fund the one million schoolchildren who might be forced out of school due to the Basic Assistance Education Module (Beam)’s failure to pay fees for them.
Speaking during a media briefing at Harvest House on the state of education in the country, MDC-T shadow minister for Basic Education Consilia Chinanzvavana said the Zanu PF bigwigs had let down parents and children by their failure to provide quality education yet their own kids accessed quality education from overseas.
“Because of Zanu PF’s incompetence in the running of Beam, one million children might be out of school and that is totally unacceptable,” Chinanzvavana said.
“The children of Zanu PF chefs get their education elsewhere and so the MDC-T is calling for unconditional enrolment of all school kids as the Constitution says all children have a fundamental right to education and that is not negotiable.”
Chinanzvavana said the pullout by development partners from Beam was because of the realisation that the new Constitution provided for free primary education.
“We have natural resources in this country. How can a responsible government be able to fund football from diamond proceeds while schoolchildren are not funded? We compel government to find resources to support Beam and not let the programme die,” she said.
Social Welfare director Sydney Mhishi told Parliament last week that the ministry got $15 million instead of $73 million leaving close to a million students facing expulsion.
COMMENTS
Mugabe doesn’t need his travel budget anymore so use that.
Its not a matter of backing the right horse its a matter of doing the morally right thing and treating all people equally no matter what the outcome. What people do with that charity or help is their problem. We must never stop doing what is right because we fear the consequences. Well done Lord Plunket you lived a good life. We respect you.
They are going to keep the money from the president s office to rig in 2018 rather than funding for those children.