HARARE – The government is pulling the plug on its universal exam fee subsidy, telling parents to find the money themselves unless their children fall into a shrinking set of protected groups.
Cabinet on Tuesday approved a review of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) fee subsidy framework, conceding that the scheme has become “increasingly unsustainable” amid fiscal constraints and competing national priorities.
Information minister Zhemu Soda said the current model fails to distinguish between vulnerable pupils and households that can pay.
Under the phased plan, only pupils in rural primary and secondary schools, those at satellite schools, and beneficiaries of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) will be supported in 2027.
From 2028, only BEAM pupils will be covered.
The subsidy began in 2020 with government paying 53 percent of fees and parents 47 percent. In 2021, the state’s share rose to 55 percent.
Government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana said the aim is a “more targeted and sustainable” subsidy that keeps the national exam system financially sound.
“The current subsidy is universal. It helps everyone, including families who can afford to pay,” he said. “It doesn’t target genuinely vulnerable students. It’s becoming unaffordable for the government given fiscal constraints.”
The announcement lands in a country where household incomes are badly depleted and where government has fallen well short of its promises on free education.
The sharpest question hangs over BEAM itself, the one scheme that survives into 2028. BEAM arrears reached US$292.4 million between 2023 and 2025, according to statements made in parliament by deputy public service, labour and social welfare minister, Mercy Dinha.
The government has said it is carrying out an audit of the BEAM programme, which could see beneficiaries further whittled down.
“The risk is that families unable to pay will simply keep their children out of the exam room, closing off the certificates that open the way to jobs, training and further study,” said Obert Masaraure, president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe.
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