Government has reviewed the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) examination fees subsidy introduced in 2020, opting to retain financial support for disadvantaged learners while requiring parents with the means to pay for their children’s examinations.
The revised framework will continue to cover pupils in rural primary and secondary schools, satellite schools and those benefiting from the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), as Government moves to make the programme more targeted and fiscally sustainable.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda announced the decision during yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing in Harare.
He said Cabinet had approved the review of the Zimsec Examination Fee Subsidy Framework and Examination Finance Model, presented by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube in his capacity as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on National Development Planning.
“The subsidy was introduced in 2020, on a cost-sharing arrangement comprising 53 percent Government support and 47 percent parental contribution, which was subsequently raised to 55 percent for Government, while parental contribution was reduced to 45 percent in 2021. However, Government notes that the current universal examination fee subsidy does not adequately distinguish between vulnerable pupils, who genuinely deserve subsidy support, and those pupils whose households have the financial capacity to pay examination fees independently,” said Prof Ncube.
Prof Ncube said the universal subsidy had increasingly become difficult to sustain and was not adequately distinguishing between vulnerable learners and those whose families could afford examination fees.
“The programme has also become increasingly unsustainable, given prevailing fiscal constraints and competing national priorities for Government, hence the imperative to review the current model and safeguard the integrity, security and continuity of Zimbabwe’s national examinations system that is financially sustainable,” he said.
Responding to questions from journalists, Prof Ncube said Government had retained the subsidy beyond the Covid-19 pandemic to continue cushioning households but had now reached a point where the programme needed to be streamlined.
“We waited. We thought that naturally this is benefiting our citizens but we can’t wait forever because Covid was not here forever as well because this was done as a Covid response. So we have taken time as Government and we feel that now time is right for us to streamline the subsidy,” he said.
He said Government would not abruptly withdraw support from all beneficiaries, adding that the subsidy would continue for eligible rural primary and secondary school pupils, including BEAM beneficiaries, over the next 12 months.
The BEAM programme is expected to continue until 2028, with the review aimed at strengthening targeted assistance while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the national examination system.
