4.1 The Law, the Family and Children in Zimbabwe . .... I would like to also thank some of the people who are very special in my life namely Mai Jimmy .... Traditional Leaders Act empowers chiefs to provide for maintenance of good standards ...
Local Government and Access to Education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children under Zimbabwe’s NAP for OVCs.
2012
Ignatius Gutsa
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Contents Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 5 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Orphans, HIV and AIDS .................................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Local Government and Access to Education in Zimbabwe ................................................................ 10 2.0 Objectives of the Study .................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 General Objective ............................................................................................................................ 12 2.2 Specific Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 12 3.0 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Specific methods of data gathering................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Ethical considerations ..................................................................................................................... 13 4.0 Study Findings................................................................................................................................. 13 4.1 The Law, the Family and Children in Zimbabwe .............................................................................. 13 4.2 Defining Orphans and Vulnerable Children ..................................................................................... 14 4.3 Orphans and Access to Education .................................................................................................... 16 4.4 Why Have a National Plan of Action for OVC? ................................................................................ 17 4.5 History and Objectives of the National Action Plan I for Orphans and Vulnerable Children............. 17 4.6 Lessons from National Action Plan I for OVCs ................................................................................ 19 4.7 National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Phase II ............................................... 19 4.8 Funding shortfalls under NAP II ...................................................................................................... 21 4.9 Reaching out to Orphans under NAP II ............................................................................................ 21 4.10 NAP and Access to Education for OVCs......................................................................................... 22 4.11 Strengthening Civil Registration Systems under NAP II .................................................................. 23 4.12 Strengthening the Role of Local Government under NAPs .............................................................. 25 4.13 Putting Social Protection into Perspective with Social Transfers under NAPs ................................ 25 4.14 Cash Grant Scheme under NAP II .................................................................................................. 27 4.15 Basic Education Assistance Module under NAP ............................................................................. 27 4.16 Challenges faced in the implementation of BEAM .......................................................................... 29 4.17
OVCs and Access to Early Childhood Education and Care......................................................... 31 2
5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 31 6.0 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 32 References............................................................................................................................................. 37
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Abbreviations AIDS
Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
ARVs
Anti Retroviral Drugs
BEAM
Basic Education Assistance Module
CBOs
Community Based Organizations
CPCs
Child Protection Committees
CSC
Community Selection Committee
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
DFID
Department for International Development
ECEC
Early Childhood Education and Care
FGDs
Focus Group Discussions
GoZ
Government of Zimbabwe
GTZ
German Technical Cooperation
HIV
Human Immuno Virus
NAC
National AIDS Council
NAP for OVCs
National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe
OVCs
Orphans and Vulnerable Children
UNGASS
United Nations General Assembly Special Session
UNICEF
United Nations Children‟s Emergency Fund
WPO
Working Party of Officials
ZNASP
Zimbabwe National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS
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Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the individuals and organizations who took part in this study. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Chris Mweembe and Fortunate Machingura in acknowledgement of the support I got from you guys on the long road that has culminated in this piece of work. As this paper took shape it benefited greatly from the advice and detailed constructive feedback from the Editorial Committee members who are hereby duly acknowledged. I would like to also thank some of the people who are very special in my life namely Mai Jimmy and Jimmy, Mai Yvonne, Mai Anne and Mainini Michel.
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Executive Summary At attainment of its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe declared education a basic human right. This declaration has over the years resulted in prioritization of education in the national budget with annual budgetary allocations averaging twenty percent of the total national budget. The providers of education in Zimbabwe are mainly the Government, Local Authorities, Church Organizations and Trustees/Board of Governors. At present the majority of both primary and secondary schools in the country are owned and run by local authorities. The result is that local government plays a very significant role in provision of education as more than fifty per cent of the schools in the country are being run by local authorities through rural districts and urban council authorities. Generally local governments by virtue of their location are often regarded as enjoying close contact with the people in comparison with central government which is often viewed as bureaucratic. Evidence has shown that ideally the planning and implementation of programmes can easily be cascaded down to the local authorities. This is mainly as a result of the fact that local government by reason of its very location close to the people is more acquainted with the problems facing people on the ground. Therefore the role of the central government should be to disburse funds to local authorities to ensure initiatives trickle down to the neediest on the ground. In the backdrop of the efforts being made by local government in the provision of education in the country Zimbabwe like any other Sub-Saharan African country is faced with the devastating effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. While the HIV prevalence rate has been on a downward trend, reaching 14.3 percent in 2009 from 20.1 percent in 2005, the burden and net effects of HIV and AIDS and poverty have continued to have devastating effects on children and the families housing those children. The result is that more than 761 000 children in Zimbabwe have lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS. The loss of a parent and or guardian has in most instances compromised Orphans and Vulnerable Children‟s access to education due to consequent loss of sources of income and livelihoods. Using a qualitative approach based on primary and secondary sources of data the general objective of this study was to examine the role of local government in improving access to education of Orphans and Vulnerable Children under National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) is a signatory to 6
various regional and international declarations on the rights and protection of children and has implemented various social protection policies, legislative instruments and programmes to ensure the fulfillment of all children‟s rights. Evidence presented in this paper shows that in high HIV and AIDS prevalent countries like Zimbabwe all children are already affected by the epidemic one way or the other. Counting Orphans and Vulnerable Children therefore becomes a major challenge as it is easier to count orphans than vulnerable children. In light of the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe as well as the devastating consequences of the HIV and AIDS epidemic coupled with the limited awareness of children‟s rights within families, communities and institutions serving children, virtually all children in the country are therefore potentially vulnerable. Since the year 2000 the Government of Zimbabwe has mainly been supporting education of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) through the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as a way of ensuring access to education of OVCs. The main objective of BEAM is to reduce the number of children dropping out of or not attending school because of economic hardships both in the rural and urban areas. However a number of challenges have also emerged around BEAM as money was being disbursed late into the school accounts. Over the year stigma around OVCs who are the main beneficiaries has slowly emerged as most OVCs are being labeled as “Mwana weBEAM’. Furthermore in some instances it was noted that the names of students who would have benefitted during the previous year in this case 2011 were no longer on the list of beneficiaries in 2012.
Some of the key recommendations that emerged from this study were that: Nutritional support for OVCs should be provided at the community level or through supplementary food assistance at the household level rather than only at school point as some OVCs who are not in the immediate school environment and also during holiday time are bound to miss out here. BEAM coverage also needs to be extended to the level of ECEC for OVCs as OVCS are sometimes failing to get access to or they are accessing ECEC much later than their counterparts who might end up having a head start ahead of the OVCs. 7
There is need for increased awareness of the levels of decentralization of the civil registration system as people seem not to be aware of the levels of decentralization of access to birth and death certificates. There is need to provide more resources under the cash transfer programme being implemented under NAP II as in the short term consistent cash transfers can help families to meet their immediate needs for education, food and healthcare as well as helping in reducing OVCs‟ vulnerability. It is also recommended that the Zunde Ramambo needs to be strengthened as it could prove effective in providing the first port of call for providing feeding schemes to OVCs in the community. The Elder Persons Bill of 2002 needs to be enacted into an Act of Parliament. Zimbabwe was one of the countries in Southern Africa to propose an Older Persons‟ Bill however more than ten years since; the Bill is yet to become an act of parliament. Therefore such failure to enact the Bill is proving problematic as the elderly are usually the first point of care for OVCs in the backdrop of HIV and AIDS.
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1.0 Introduction This paper examines the role of local government in improving access to education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) under the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NAP for OVCs) in Zimbabwe. The numbers of OVCs in the country have been on the increase mainly as a consequence of the impact of HIV and AIDS which has increased vulnerability of children in the process affecting their access to education at all levels. At attainment of independence in 1980, Zimbabwe declared education a basic human right. The result is that since independence evidence of prioritization of education as a basic human right has led to the education sector receiving on average, above 20 per cent of the national budget in a bid to increase access and participation.
1.1 Background 1.2 Orphans, HIV and AIDS According to World Vision (2012), 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS in the world and 12.1 million of these orphans are in Africa. Another 10 million children will lose their parents by the year 2015. Every 30 seconds a child in Africa loses a parent to HIV and AIDS. Furthermore according to Engle (2008, 1) in the year 2005, an estimated 48 million children aged 0-18 years were orphans; these children are often vulnerable to abuse and exploitation and many have to leave school and therefore have few vocational opportunities. These children may also experience stigma and discrimination as well as lacking emotional support. One quarter of all orphans are orphaned because of AIDS and between 2.1 and 2.9 million children are currently infected with HIV. Richter and Foster (2006) noted that untreated, most children born with HIV will die before their fourth birthday most likely in the first two years of life. Over half of these orphans are under the age of 12 and 7 million (16 percent) of the orphans in Africa are under 6 years of age. Moreover it is estimated that 25 percent of the orphans in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced a parents‟ death before the age of 5 years (UNICEF, 2006a).
Zimbabwe like any other Sub-Saharan African country is faced with the devastating effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. While the HIV prevalence rate has been on a downward trend, reaching 14.3 percent in 2009 from 20.1 percent in 2005, the burden and net effects of HIV and AIDS and poverty have continued to have devastating effects on children and the families 9
housing those children. The result is that more than 761 000 children in Zimbabwe have lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS. The loss of a parent and or guardian has in most instances compromised OVCs‟ access to education due to consequent loss of sources of income and livelihoods. The result of this scenario above of the impact of HIV and AIDS in its various manifestations is that it is posing a serious threat to all the post independent gains made in education.
1.3 Local Government and Access to Education in Zimbabwe As noted by Mushamba (2010, 102) local government refers to the sub-national level of government. In Zimbabwe the main institutions at the level of local government are the Rural District Councils and the Urban Councils. This level of government is separate from, yet operationally interconnected with provincial and district levels of government. Councils are separate to the extent that they are elected, while provincial and district governments are not. Local Government in Zimbabwe is governed by the following Acts namely; i.
The Urban Council Act
ii.
The Traditional Leaders Act
iii.
The Rural District Councils Act
iv.
The Regional Town and Country Planning Act
v.
Provincial Councils and Administration Act,
These legal instruments empower the Local Government institutions to effectively carry out their mandate. As local government in comparison to central government is close to the people, local governments therefore has a lot of potential to provide services such as education to its constituency and most importantly to its most needy members who are the OVCs in most instances. For example Chapter 29:13 of the Rural District Councils Act Section 45 stipulates that rural district councils are empowered to provide, operate and maintain schools as well as other educational institutions and facilities and amenities and also to levy and collect fees and other charges. Chapter 29:15 of the Councils Act also gives local authorities power to operate and maintain schools and other educational institutions, facilities and amenities connected therewith, and for such purposes to levy and collect fees and other charges. Section 31 of the same Act also provides for maintenance allowances for aged persons, mentally or physically handicapped persons, orphans and indigent persons. Furthermore Chapter 29:17 of the 10
Traditional Leaders Act empowers chiefs to provide for maintenance of good standards of health and education in his area.
As noted by Chitiyo and Wheeler (2004) since 1980 the government of Zimbabwe started a massive expansion of the education system. Two decades later, the country‟s literacy rate had risen to one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Chitiyo and Wheeler (2004, 2) further state that the 1996 National Report on Education noted that the Education Act of 1987, as amended in 1991 (Education Amendment Act, No. 26/1991), sets out general policies on education. The policies state that compulsory primary education should be provided for every child of schoolgoing age, all children have a fundamental right to education, all children are entitled to enrolment at the nearest school and that schools should charge minimum fees.
Currently the providers of education in Zimbabwe are: Government, Local Authorities, Church Organizations and Trustees/Board of Governors. Majority of schools in the country are owned and run by local authorities through the Ministry of Local Government, National Housing and Public Works. Therefore local government currently plays a very significant role in provision of education at both primary and secondary level as majority of schools in the country are run by local authorities through rural districts and urban council authorities with the remainder being run by the government, churches and Trustees/Boards of Governors (National Action Plan Of Zimbabwe Education For All Towards 2015 (2005, 14).
Fig. 1 The distribution of schools by Responsible Authority Responsible Authority
Primary %
Secondary %
Government
5.8
12.8
Local Authorities
79.4
70.4
Churches
4.6
11.3
Trustees/Board of Governors
2.3
2.0
Other
7.9
3.5
Source: Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture, 2000
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2.0 Objectives of the Study 2.1 General Objective The general objective of this study was to examine the role of local government in improving access to education of Orphans and Vulnerable Children under NAP for OVCs in Zimbabwe.
2.2 Specific Objectives The specific objectives were to: 1. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the current National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in facilitating the accessing of education of the orphans and vulnerable children 2. Assess the difficulties experienced by orphans and vulnerable children in accessing education in Zimbabwe. 3. Recommend how local government under NAP for OVC can improve the accessing of education of orphans and OVCs in Zimbabwe. 4. Identify and discuss best practices of NAP for OVC programmes from other countries.
3.0 Methodology To achieve the study‟s objectives the methodology that was adopted was a qualitative approach with a mixed primary and secondary data gathering approach which entailed carrying out the following tasks: a. A detailed desk review of the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children I and II programs in Zimbabwe. b. Desk review of policy and legislative instruments regarding Orphans and Vulnerable children. c. Attending and gathering information at regional/national consultative workshops/Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) organized by NANGO in the following regions namely Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo, Harare and Mutare. d. Carrying out Key Informant Interviews with key stakeholders.
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The result of adoption of the above methods of data gathering led to accumulation of rich qualitative data along the lines of the objectives which was subsequently analysed and presented in a thematic way in accordance with the themes that emerged in the research process.
3.1 Specific methods of data gathering The fieldwork for this paper was carried out between November 2011 and April 2012. Part of the background work for the study involved a literature review of the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children I and II, as well as the legislative and policy framework regarding OVCs and local government. The literature review also investigated examples from other countries that have implemented National Action Plans as well as put in place other social protection measures like cash transfers. Key informant interviews were also conducted with various government officials, officials from various civil society organizations, representatives from local government authorities, community members, local community and traditional leadership. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were drawn from participants in all the areas sampled which were the following regions namely; Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Harare and Masvingo. Each FGD normally consisted of ten to fifteen people who were working in the various agencies focusing on children in the administrative regions. These FGDs were deliberately aimed at achieving a gender balance representation in each and every FGD held.
3.2 Ethical considerations In line with the universal principles of conducting social research, the researcher upheld the strict requirements of adhering to research ethics as a measure of good research. The result of this was that the research proceeded on the basis of informed consent as participants were sufficiently briefed on the research process as well as guaranteeing confidentiality of respondents.
4.0 Study Findings 4.1 The Law, the Family and Children in Zimbabwe The Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) is a signatory to various regional and international declarations on the rights and protection of children and has implemented various social protection policies, legislative instruments and programmes to ensure the fulfillment of all children‟s rights. Evidence on the ground shows that Zimbabwe has a good legislative and policy 13
framework for OVCs in the form of the Orphan Care Policy and the National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NAP for OVC). For example the Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 26) to which Zimbabwe is a signatory to, acknowledges that social protection encompasses measures to prevent and respond to risk and vulnerability. Zimbabwe‟s legislation also recognizes the central function played by families in supporting child growth and development. Notable is the fact that while Zimbabwe has an estimated 1.6 million children made vulnerable by the HIV and AIDS epidemic only 5 000 (0.3 percent) of them are living in institutions while the rest are being cared for by their families and communities. Zimbabwe has mainly been practicing the family centred community based approach to taking care of orphans and vulnerable children. The main emphasis of the family centred community based approach has also been the one on which the National Action Plans for Orphans and Vulnerable Children have been built upon as this approach does not uproot the child from the community but simply focuses on taking care of the OVCs in their community. Key stakeholders in the study regions noted that what is therefore urgently needed is to rebuild families economically and socially so that they can again perform their central role of being the first point of care. This family centred, community based approach needs to be strengthened in order to provide comprehensive care and support for orphans and vulnerable children. This is so because in most situations the OVCs are living in inter-generation gap households where the care givers are also people in need of care due to old age.
4.2 Defining Orphans and Vulnerable Children According to UNICEF (2007, 4) all children have the right to protection. A child whose family is wealthy can still be raped or beaten. A girl in a loving family may still be married against her will in settings where this is the social norm. However the risks for children increase when their families are poor, when children lack access to basic services or are stigmatized within their communities. Parents are children‟s first line of protection, therefore the risks of exploitation and abuse increase when parents or caregivers are absent due to illness, death or abandonment. Problems such as these are highly likely to cluster in the lives of children affected by AIDS with the result that these children increasingly become vulnerable to protection violations.
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As noted by Boler and Carroll (2003, 1) the term Orphan and Vulnerable Children has been coined in light of the high number of children affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Observations have shown that the OVC category is conceptually problematic. One of the major conceptual problems is on who should be included and who should not be included as an OVC? Furthermore in high prevalence countries like Zimbabwe all children are already affected by the epidemic one way or the other. Counting OVCs is also a big challenge as it is easier to count orphans than vulnerable children. However even with orphans: do we need to include the rich orphans or do we exclude them? As further noted by Boler and Carroll (2003, 1) it is also crucial not to allow cultural biases to cloud judgment on who is vulnerable. One of their observations is that for instance in European societies; a child living away from their family is seen as disadvantaged whilst this is not necessarily the case in many Asian and African societies. There is therefore a need to come up with context based definitions of who can be categorized as an orphan. For example during one of the FGDs in Masvingo one participant noted that “Nherera mwana akafirwa namai. Zvekuti baba ndivo vaisevenza hazvina basa. Kana mai varipo toti mwana anorarama”. Meaning: “An orphan is a child whose mother has died. Even if the father who was the breadwinner dies it is not significant. If the mother is alive we know that the child will survive”
The Zimbabwe National Orphan Care Policy and the NAP for OVC I (2004, 8) define orphans as those children aged 0-18 whose parents have died. Vulnerable children include the following: • Children with physical and/or intellectual disabilities • Children affected and/or infected by HIV and AIDS; • Abused children (sexually, physically, and emotionally); • Working children; • Destitute children: • Children living outside a family environment; • Pregnant/married children and/or child parents; • Neglected/abandoned children; • Children in remote areas (who walk long distances to schools, health centres, and other service centres); 15
• Children with chronically ill parent(s); • Children in conflict with the law; • Unaccompanied child migrants; • Children of school going age, who are not in school (e.g., dropouts); • Children living with very poor/elderly parents/guardians; • Children of mobile vulnerable populations; • Children living in very crowded shelter. NAP II has just like NAP I taken the view that in light of the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe as well as the devastating consequences of the HIV and AIDS epidemic coupled with the limited awareness of children‟s rights within families, communities and institutions serving children, virtually all children in the country are potentially vulnerable.
4.3 Orphans and Access to Education Enrolment is one of the most important educational indicators used in determining access to education. However education is far more complex than just focusing on the enrolment figures. NAP I and II for OVCs aim towards increased enrollment and retention of vulnerable children in schools. During the consultative workshops it emerged that when looking at access to education focus should not only be confined to enrolment. This is so because: i.
Children may be enrolled at school but not learning because they are hungry or they are being asked to “face the back” while others are learning because they have not paid their fees. This emerged in one of the FGDs in Kariba where it was noted that children who have not paid their fees are being told to face the wall whilst others are learning as the teachers are not allowed to send the pupils back home for nonpayment of fees or;
ii. Children may also be unable to concentrate due to anxiety at home or; iii. They are missing classes to look after their family members. Some of the observations that emerged from the research were that when looking at the impact of orphanhood on education, it is important to consider not only enrolment rates, but also the quality and consistency of attendance. Broadly evidence is showing that the educational needs of children born with HIV have also been ignored, possibly because they are seen as children without a future and education is an 16
investment for the future. This kind of thinking is increasingly becoming redundant as people of all ages infected by HIV survive longer due to treatment advances in biomedicine, the increasing availability of Anti Retroviral Drugs (ARVs) and the consequently rising number of paediatric HIV cases who are now reaching adulthood. As noted by Boler and Carroll (2003, 1) orphans are different from other vulnerable children in that they have lost a parent. This is so because they are grieving and grieving is a process, and some children never stop grieving. If they are not helped to overcome this grief, it can become psychologically disabling and they are unlikely to become fully functioning members of society and the economy. For this reason orphaned children need psychosocial help especially in cultures where adults do not talk to children about death and where children are discouraged from self-expression.
4.4 Why Have a National Plan of Action for OVC? Cardoso (2010, 5) has defined National Plans of Action (NPA) “as a plan that is based on a situation assessment and multi-sectoral consultation, sets priorities and objectives, defines strategies, identifies corresponding coordinating bodies, includes a policy and legislative review and a monitoring and evaluation strategy and estimates costs and funding sources for priority actions.” Fanelli (2008) further notes that having a national OVC policy is one component of the Declaration of Commitment signed by 189 State parties, including Zimbabwe, at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic in 2001.
4.5 History and Objectives of the National Action Plan I for Orphans and Vulnerable Children The National Action Plan I for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NAP I for OVCs) which ran from 2005 to 2010 was developed with the participation of children as key stakeholders at the National Stakeholders' Conference in June 2003. The conference rolled out recommendations culminating in the National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. Broadly NAP I for OVCs sought to ensure that OVCs are able to access education, food, health services, birth registration as well as being protected from abuse and exploitation through coordinated efforts by government and civil society with the full participation of children. The initial vision of NAP I was to reach out to all orphans and other vulnerable children in Zimbabwe with basic services 17
that will positively impact on their lives. After the programme was approved by Cabinet in August 2004 it was launched by H.E Vice President Joice Mujuru in September 2005. As noted by GoZ (2004, 17), some of the key goals of the NAP I for OVCs was to: Increase child participation where appropriate in all issues that concern them from community to national level, considering their evolving capacities. Increase the percentage of children with birth certificates by at least 25 per cent by December 2005. Increase new school enrolment of OVC by at least 25 per cent by December 2005 while ensuring retention of OVC in primary and secondary schools. Increase access to food, health services and water and sanitation for all OVC by December 2005. Increase education on nutrition, health, and hygiene for all OVC by December 2005; and Reduce the number of children who live outside of a family environment by at least 25 per cent by December 2005 (this includes children living without adult guidance, children living on the streets, and children in institutions). To this end the NAP for OVC program has entered the second phase (2011-2015) under NAP II for OVCs of programming in line with the Zimbabwe National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS (ZNASP) which is the country‟s overall guiding strategic plan for the national response to HIV and AIDS. Several institutions have been established to implement NAP II and children are represented in almost all of them. First, there is a National Secretariat based in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. This National Secretariat supports the establishment of district and provincial level Secretariats which in turn are helping to create village, district and provincial level Child Protection Committees (CPCs) and village-level Children‟s Committees. All children can be members of their village Children‟s Committee, and it is this committee that elects child representatives to the CPCs and advises these representatives on children‟s issues, challenges and needs. The CPCs are charged with NAP implementation, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation activities and their members include a wide range of stakeholders, 18
such as members of the police, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), village headmen, health workers and children. Finally, the Working Party of Officials (WPO) consists of representatives from seven government ministries, the National AIDS Council (NAC), UNICEF, CBOs, international Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), faith-based organizations, the National Association of NGOs, the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, donors, the private sector and children. Some of the WPO‟s terms of reference are to monitor NAP implementation and to ensure child participation both in the WPO and in NAP implementation (GoZ, 2004). Under NAP I US$85 million was used to respond to the needs of more than 500 000 children in the areas of education, health, nutrition and social welfare as well as strengthening the capacity of government to build safety nets for children and their families.
4.6 Lessons from National Action Plan I for OVCs Since the implementation of NAP I in 2005 a number of challenges have been encountered during its implementation. Some of the main challenges under NAP were the perennial late disbursement of funds especially under the BEAM initiative which inadvertently worked to disadvantage the OVCs as they were the ones who were the main beneficiaries. Some of the small CBOs noted that under NAP I they had limited access to some of the resources they needed in order to effectively play their part in implementing NAP I. For example one CBO in Mahombekombe Township in Kariba noted that it had limited access to motor vehicles therefore this compounded their mobility problems as they could not readily access some of the remote areas that they were working in. As local government is viewed as being closer to the beneficiaries of NAP for OVCs, therefore local government could help by stepping in to provide the much needed mobility requirements for very small and under resourced CBOs in their localities.
4.7 National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Phase II The NAP for OVC programme has entered the second phase (2011-2015) of programming in line with the Zimbabwe National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS (ZNASP). The revised National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Phase II builds on the success and lessons of NAP I. Once more NAP II will provide a framework for coordinated action to ensure that orphans, vulnerable children and their families in Zimbabwe have incomes and access to 19
basic services and that all children are protected from abuse and exploitation. NAP II therefore integrates action to help families cope with risks and shocks through three main interventions namely: a) Cash transfers to the poorest families b) Education assistance through the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and; c) Child protection service delivery for child survivors of abuse, violence and exploitation.
Under NAP II just like NAP I a child has been defined as any person below the age of 18 years. NAP II is targeting: child orphans, who have lost one or both parents; vulnerable children with unfulfilled rights; and their families.
The targets for NAP II are to: increase the incomes of 250 000 extremely poor households, particularly those with orphans and vulnerable children to build a healthy and supportive family environment; increase access of all orphans and vulnerable children and their families to basic education, health and other social services, including: primary education support to at least 750 000 of the country‟s poorest children including those living with disabilities per year; secondary education support to at least 200 000 of the country‟s poorest children per year; and medical support to children from at least 25 000 of the country‟s poorest households per year; Facilitating access to basic services through birth registration of children. Increase child participation, where appropriate, in all issues that concern them from community to national level. Child headed households; grandparent headed households; households with large numbers of dependents and those with chronically ill or persons living with disabilities will be cushioned with social cash transfers of up to US$25 per month, per household to enable families to meet immediate needs for food and health care. The roll out of cash transfers commenced at the end of November 2011 in the 10 poorest districts in each of the country‟s 10 provinces. 20
4.8 Funding shortfalls under NAP II Currently US$45 million of the needed US$75 million for the Child Protection Fund up to 2013 has already been mobilised from donors. However it has already been noted that there remains a gap which is required to ensure full national coverage of this programme. A consequence of this shortfall in funding is the realization that it is going to prove very difficult to ensure full national coverage of NAP II for OVCs. For example the failure to marshal the remaining shortfall will be noted in the limited coverage of the US$25 cash transfer per month. Limited coverage and fall backs in the cash transfers will create a downward spiral of vulnerability for these affected families. Since Section 31 of the Councils Act empowers local authorities to provide for maintenance allowances for aged persons, mentally or physically handicapped persons, orphans and indigent persons, therefore local authorities could step in to overcome this funding shortfall as these maintenance allowances could also be used for paying fees for those OVCs not under BEAM. Therefore there is urgent need to marshal funds to cover the remaining funding shortfall in order to sustain the momentum of this cash transfer mechanism under NAP II.
4.9 Reaching out to Orphans under NAP II NAP II recognises that communities are well placed to identify vulnerable children. Children can also assess their own vulnerability, identify other vulnerable children, prioritise interventions to best fulfill their basic rights and monitor and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of interventions designed for children. During the design of NAP II the children consulted identified urban orphaned children living alone or under the care of very poor elderly guardians, children living with chronically ill parents or with a mental illness, children of internally displaced families, children living with abusive adults, children living in very crowded shelters, children living on the streets, children who are mentally disturbed or living with disability, children living with HIV, pregnant children, and school dropouts as being among the most vulnerable and in greatest need of support. In view of this under NAP II communities will be actively involved in identifying and caring for vulnerable children and child participation will remain central to the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions. During the consultative process some of the participants in Masvingo noted that children living with AIDS are also a special category of orphans who need extra care. The result is that for example children with AIDS, disabilities may be referred to as „doubly vulnerable‟ because these children 21
live with a disability in addition to experiencing other disadvantages just like the other categories of orphans.
4.10 NAP and Access to Education for OVCs It is universally acknowledged that schools continue to be vital places where children affected by AIDS and all other children can find protection and support. Furthermore schools are also serving as entry points for children who need to receive health services and meals. The right to education is crucial as access to schooling helps children affected by HIV and AIDS cope with their situation and regain a sense of normalcy and stability in their lives. The protective nature of schooling is however dependent on safeguarding rights within education and providing safe and inclusive learning environments at a reasonable distance from children‟s homes and with access to safe water and sanitation. When NAP I was launched its aim was to increase new school enrolment of OVC by at least 25 per cent by December 2005 while ensuring retention of OVC in primary and secondary schools. In the same vein NAP II seeks to ensure education assistance for OVCs through the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as well as increasing access of all orphans and vulnerable children and their families to basic education. The goal here is to ensure access to primary education support to at least 750 000 of the country‟s poorest children per year including those living with disabilities as well as provide access to secondary education support to at least 200 000 of the country‟s poorest children per year. During the consultative workshops it emerged that however inasmuch as enrolment figures are celebrated as signs of access to education children may be enrolled at school but not learning as a result of a number of factors which range from being hungry or as was noted during the consultative process they are being asked to “face the back” while others are learning because they have not paid their fees. This “face the back” syndrome emerged in one of the FGDs in Kariba where it was noted that children who would not have paid their fees are being told to face the wall whilst others are learning as the teachers do not want to send the pupils back home for nonpayment of fees. The result is that simply celebrating enrolment figures as a sign of access to education under NAP II will definitely miss those children who are enrolled but not learning. Aside from the emotional and psychological effects that losing a parent can have, there is clear evidence that orphaned children are dropping out of school at a higher rate than non orphaned children. 22
As it was noted by participants in Masvingo, the death of a mother is more devastating than the death of a father leading to serious lack of access to education for OVCs ranging from nonattendance, coming to school late and non progression in school. Boler and Carroll (2003, 1) in their research in Manicaland also noted that generally losing a mother has a more detrimental effect on a child‟s primary school completion than losing their father. For example when the mother dies, the father can easily take on a new spouse who is very unlikely to prioritize the education of her step-children, thereby compromising access to education for orphans with deceased mothers. Furthermore where transport and service costs are very high, children and in most cases OVCs may miss out on education due to these high service and transportation costs. This was noted as some schools in rural areas are very far and spaced in between thereby affecting access to education for OVCs. OVCs are also more likely to be tired and hungry at school compared to their counterparts. Therefore some of the recommendations proffered were the provision of school feeding schemes in which schools provide food for the poorest children. However the good intentions of such initiatives are overshadowed by the fact that inasmuch as school feeding schemes can be beneficial to poor children they will inadvertently miss out on the OVCs who are not immediately in the immediate school environment as well as during holiday times as children cannot simply travel to school to get a meal considering some of the long distances travelled to get to school. This is where local government could step in to ensure that feeding schemes are based in the community closer to the OVCs than centralized at the school level which may not be accessible to other OVCs during the normal school holidays.
What has also emerged as problematic under NAP II is the fact that there appears to be a deliberate policy inbuilt into it of trimming the number of OVCs who can access primary and secondary education in the initial and subsequent successive years. For example NAP II aims to provide primary education support to at least 750 000 of the country‟s poorest children.
4.11 Strengthening Civil Registration Systems under NAP II One of the key recommendations which emerged during the consultative process was the need to increase advocacy initiatives under NAP II in order to increase ease of access to birth and death certificates. This was noted as imperative as registering a birth is integral to a child realizing the right to a name, nationality and legal identity. Evidence has shown that children who are not 23
registered at birth are more vulnerable with the situation of children who are not registered and lacking parental protection being even more disadvantaged. For example these children may have difficulty establishing their identity and family ties and might also possibly be denied the right to inherit parental property. Therefore easier access to birth and death certificates will enable OVCs to be enrolled in school as OVCs are facing difficulties in accessing birth certificates thereby also affecting their chances of getting enrolled in school. In light of the above advocacy initiatives should therefore be centred on encouraging parents to write wills as the existence of wills usually avoids the challenges that are faced by children in instances of parents‟ death. For example in most countries, civil registration including registration of a parent‟s death can help guarantee the inheritance rights of orphaned children. Birth certificates help facilitate access to basic services, including schooling and social assistance and can also help protect children against child marriage, hazardous labour, trafficking and recruitment into armed forces/groups. In this study evidence showed that there is generally a lack of awareness of the levels of decentralization of the civil registration system. This lack of awareness of the level of decentralization of civil registration system therefore means that those requiring such services are being forced to travel long distances in the process committing scarce resources in order to access such services. In line with the recommendations from the 2006 Global Partners Forum on Children Affected by HIV and AIDS there is need for increased advocacy and practical steps to remove the barriers to civil registration, including calling on government to eliminate fees. Evidence from other countries shows that in order for this to be achieved eliminating fees and/or decentralizing registration services is effective. For example in Afghanistan where HIV prevalence is low, the government has linked birth registration to its polio campaign which has reached almost every household in the country. On the other hand Local governments should also be given authority, resources and accountability to improve registration levels in their area. Stakeholders noted that there was need to improve civil registration systems by eliminating fees. To this end civil registration systems in Zimbabwe can also be made more efficient by borrowing from other developing countries‟ experiences. This could either easily be made possible by decentralizing and linking birth registration with other commonly used services in the health system like vaccinations as is the practice in Afghanistan. Furthermore there is need to increase information dissemination to the community in order to sensitise people on the levels of decentralization of the civil registration system as respondents expressed ignorance about this. 24
4.12 Strengthening the Role of Local Government under NAPs Generally local governments by virtue of their location are often regarded as enjoying close contact with the people in comparison with central government which is often viewed as bureaucratic. Evidence has shown that ideally the planning and implementation of programmes can easily be cascaded down to the local authorities. This is mainly as a result of the fact that local government by reason of its very location close to the people is more acquainted with the problems facing people on the ground. Therefore the role of the central government should be to disburse funds to local authorities to ensure initiatives trickle down to the neediest on the ground. Some of the recommendations made in order to strengthen the role of local government are to do with allocating funds to local authorities under NAP II not only based on their size but rather on the actual number of OVCs needing assistance in their respective locales. In instances where local authorities own schools they could provide direct subsidies by substituting fees payment as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). NAP II recognizes the role that Local Government can play in the implementation of this programme as it acknowledges that contributions will be channelled through the staff from other line ministries such as Education, Justice, Home Affairs (Registrar General‟s Office) and from Local Government who will serve various roles in the implementation of the NAP. According to the guidelines for the selection of who should be elected into the Community Selection Committee (CSC), it is explicitly stated that local government leaders that include councilors and traditional leaders are not supposed to be part of the CSC. However evidence on the ground indicates that in some areas councilors and traditional leaders are sitting on the selection committee thereby compromising the impartiality and independence of the committee.
4.13 Putting Social Protection into Perspective with Social Transfers under NAPs Social protection is viewed as the set of all initiatives, both formal and informal that provide: social assistance to extremely poor individuals and households; social services to groups who need special care or would otherwise be denied access to basic services; social insurance to protect people against the risks and consequences of livelihood shocks; and social security to protect people against social risks such as discrimination or abuse (Devereux and SabatesWheeler, 2004). In the backdrop HIV and AIDS traditional family and community mechanisms to support orphans have been under considerable financial strain resulting in more children 25
facing difficulties in accessing health care, education and other basic amenities. Furthermore it is now beyond doubt that HIV and AIDS has generated a major livelihood crisis for many families in Sub-Saharan Africa. The consequences of the pandemic have been devastating leading significantly to reduced life expectancy, a dramatic weakening of livelihood systems and a dramatic increase in poverty and vulnerability for all categories of people, especially children and the elderly. The number of children affected by HIV and AIDS has escalated as evidenced by increasing numbers of „single‟ and „double‟ orphans, as well as an increase in the numbers of institutionalized, abandoned and street children.
Social protection measures, including income transfers, family support services and alternative care can therefore help to mitigate the impact of AIDS by reducing poverty and family separation as well as contributing to better health, education and protection outcomes. NAP II has introduced a social transfer programme that will benefit children tremendously. This social transfer is being provided as a cash payout of US$25. This cash transfer that has been introduced under NAP II will definitely prove effective as in other countries where social transfers have been introduced they have proved effective in alleviating income poverty as well as enabling vulnerable households to meet their basic needs. Social transfers have also been seen to relieve families of the pressure to place children in institutions, lessening the risk of child labour and reducing the stress that contributes to domestic violence. For example in Kenya, after the government‟s elimination of school fees there was a reduction in the number of children and families living on the street and an increase in school attendance was also observed. In Brazil and South Africa where social transfers have been introduced these have proved effective in improving household security. On the other hand Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia have pension schemes that provide old-age benefits. The Zambian government with support from German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has implemented a pilot project that aids the 10 per cent of households in a chosen region that are critically poor and incapacitated (i.e. households with sick or deceased breadwinners, no able-bodied workers and high dependency ratios). Observations are showing that if scaled up to cover the whole of Zambia the programme is projected to cost an estimated 0.5 per cent of the country‟s gross domestic product. As Zimbabwe has recently introduced cash transfers under NAP II this is expected to go a long way in strengthening family support services through these cash transfers and ultimately helping address poverty and other 26
challenges faced by families affected by AIDS. This is supported by evidence which is showing that in countries where cash transfers have been introduced they are helping households financially and hence working effectively to reduce children‟s vulnerability
4.14 Cash Grant Scheme under NAP II According to United Nations News (2011) tens of thousands of Zimbabwean orphans and othe vulnerable children will benefit from cash transfers, educational aid and protection services under a new Government programme launched in partnership with the United Nations and international donors. The revised NAP II (2011-2015) builds on the success and lessons of the National Action Plan (NAP I) for OVC. The target under NAP II aims to reach more than 80 000 households. Furthermore with the support from NGOs at least 25 000 children will benefit from access to quality child protection services. Child headed households; grandparent headed households; households with large numbers of dependents and those with chronically ill or persons living with disabilities will be cushioned with social cash transfers of up to US$25 per month per household to enable families to meet immediate needs for food and health care.
These cash transfers will mainly allow families to set their own spending priorities. Research evidence shows that when families make their own choices, much of their spending benefits children both directly, for example by paying school fees, and indirectly through the household becoming more stable. It has been noted that the flexibility of cash transfers means that those affected by HIV and AIDS and their families and caregivers can meet their diverse needs effectively. Cash transfers can decrease child poverty. A 2004 review covering more than 15 countries found that the presence of child-oriented transfer programmes led to a reduction in child poverty. In 2005, Making Cash Count examined a variety of cash transfers from old-age pensions and child-focused grants, to those targeted at the poorest in the community to measure their impact on children. Where these were targeted at children they were found to have a positive impact on children‟s well being.
4.15 Basic Education Assistance Module under NAP The Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), through which tuition fee, school levy and examination-fee assistance is provided to vulnerable children is crucial to eliminate barriers that 27
keep the poorest children from attending school (in most cases these poorest children are also the OVCs). The Government of Zimbabwe‟s support for the education of OVCs has mainly been coming through BEAM. BEAM was set up in 2000 and supports orphans and vulnerable children through a basic education package that includes levies, school and examination fees. The main objective of BEAM is to reduce the number of children dropping out of or not attending school because of economic hardships. The target of BEAM is therefore school children in both urban and rural areas. As noted by Scott (2012) the United Kingdom‟s Department for International Development (DFID) recently announced that Britain is committing £10 million (over US$15 million) to support BEAM. In 2012 the Zimbabwean Government allocated US$15 million to BEAM to fund secondary school students. At the request of the Ministries responsible for the programme; namely Ministry of Finance, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, and Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the United Kingdom Government, through DFID, agreed to fund the shortfall for primary school students under BEAM.
During the consultative process it emerged that inasmuch as BEAM was providing for school fees of OVCs, some orphaned children were also failing to buy the mandatory school uniforms and stationary required at their respective schools as well as paying for „extra lessons” that are almost becoming a norm in Zimbabwe. Therefore it was noted that even though OVCs can access free education through programmes such as BEAM they still faced challenges in getting the money to pay the extra incentives demanded by teachers as well as money for buying school uniforms that are mandatory. As paying teachers incentives has also now become almost a common practice in Zimbabwe, the new challenges that are emerging are such that many OVCs are slowly being pushed out of school as they cannot afford to pay the incentives for teachers, paying for extra lessons as well as money to pay for school uniforms. As BEAM is not covering „extra lessons‟ the result was that OVCs are bound to get left behind while others go ahead as during the consultative process teachers were being accused of creating an environment which is not conducive for learning at the school but preferring to make extra money by offering “extra lessons” at their homes. This was therefore proving a big challenge as the OVCs who would have benefitted from BEAM would not be able to fully utilize the benefits of access to education as a result of failing to pay for teachers‟ incentives, paying for “extra lessons” as well as buying the mandatory school uniforms e.t.c. Therefore there is need to provide a total package for 28
orphans which would also include provision of uniforms and also paying incentives for teachers. The result is that the good intentions of BEAM may slowly be overshadowed as ensuring access to education for OVCs cannot simply be equated to paying school fees. Under NAP I BEAM was supporting close to 800 000 children. Furthermore BEAM is only paying examination fees for six subjects only at Ordinary Level thereby limiting subject choices for beneficiaries under BEAM who would have wanted to register for more than six subjects.
4.16 Challenges faced in the implementation of BEAM Some of the notable challenges in the implementation of BEAM that were raised during the consultative process were namely that BEAM money was being disbursed late into the school accounts. For example on many occasions school fees for first and second term were being received toward the end of second term. This was therefore disadvantaging the main beneficiaries of BEAM who in most instances are the OVCs. Furthermore in principle once students are placed on the BEAM initiative they are supposed to continue on the BEAM programme until they finish their education. This however appeared not to be consistently the case as pupils who were on BEAM are being selected each and every year and therefore some students ended up losing out on BEAM because of non selection onto the scheme in the subsequent years. Currently the BEAM budget is being provided for on a yearly basis, however since the dollarization of the Zimbabwean economy in 2009 most schools have consistently been raising school fees. This has now meant that the numbers of children that are benefitting under the BEAM basket are also getting less and less. The result is that a lack of school fees is putting children in a vulnerable position to be abused e.g. “sex for fees”. Furthermore results for children under BEAM in most instances are not being released on time due to late payment of their fees. The result is that OVCs who are the main beneficiaries under BEAM end up being the ones who suffer as they cannot proceed to the next level e.g. from Grade 7 to Form 1.
In most instances it was also noted that; “Schools are using children to communicate their messages to parents and guardians’. For example parents and guardians tell their children to go to school even when they have not paid school fees. On the other hand school heads tell kids to go home as the fees have not been 29
paid. One participant in Masvingo noted that since Ministry of Education policy does not allow children to be sent away for non-payment of school fees, teachers in some rural schools are still sending children away from school. If you ask them why they will say: “Hatidzinge vana chikoro nekuti havana kubhadhara school fees nekuti mutemo hautibvumidze. Tinongomuudza kuti mwana enda kumba unotora mari yefees”. Meaning “We do not chase kids away from school for nonpayment of fees. We simply tell them to go and collect the fees from home”. The result is that the kids end up spending time somewhere and go home when others are just being dismissed for the day. Everyone thinks they were, were they were supposed to be. Therefore local authorities which are running schools need to step in to ensure that children are learning and not being disadvantaged for nonpayment of fees. The result is that these children are put at risk and some of them can end up getting pregnant. Furthermore it is also crucial to address the stigma that is slowly emerging around beneficiaries of BEAM as most OVCs were being labeled as “Mwana weBEAM’.
BEAM was also not catering for mid-year entrants as BEAM was not having a provision for taking on new students who would have become eligible for BEAM during the course of the school year, for example new orphans. Some of the other challenges that were noted with BEAM under NAP I were that there were instances where people who were new in an area were being selected to sit on the BEAM selection committees even though they did not have sufficient knowledge of the areas they would have settled into as this was noted in the case of Kariba urban where a lady who was new to the area was selected to sit on the committee despite the fact that she had indicated that she was still new to the area. Furthermore in some instances it was noted that the names of students who would have benefitted during the previous year in this case 2011 were no longer on the list of beneficiaries in 2012. The question which therefore needed an answer was if someone was an orphan last year and they were included and now they have been excluded have they now found “parents”?
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Some of the limitations of BEAM were also noted as the need to revisit the selection criteria for example one CBO working with children in Kariba indicated that it had submitted 73 names of children for consideration for funding under BEAM and only 17 were selected.
4.17 OVCs and Access to Early Childhood Education and Care Currently Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Zimbabwe is a three-year cycle for 36 year olds. Since 2004 the Ministry Of Education Sport and Culture has a new policy pronouncement of compulsory ECEC for all children. However it has to be noted that this policy pronouncement in Zimbabwe raises a major challenge for central and local government in ensuring that schools are close to communities. Government has indicated the need to create classes for ECEC at each school and has been setting up satellite schools in new settlements. Currently ECEC is not being provided free of charge. A consequence of this is that inasmuch as BEAM is taking care of children‟s school fee needs at primary and secondary level as long as BEAM does not come down to the level of providing access to ECEC for OVCs it will therefore mean that those children who get access to ECEC will have a head start compared to OVCs who fail to access or may access ECEC late in their formative years.
5 Conclusion This study has examined the role of local government in the provision of education of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe in the context of the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. This paper has also examined the strengths and weaknesses of Zimbabwe‟s National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in facilitating the accessing of education of orphans and vulnerable children. This has been achieved by assessing the difficulties being experienced by orphans and vulnerable children in accessing education in Zimbabwe. The study also identified some of the best practices that are being implemented in other countries in order to cater for the needs of OVCs. In the backdrop of a high HIV and AIDS prevalence rate OVCs are facing considerable challenges in accessing education and other essential services. As the government of Zimbabwe is a signatory to various international conventions guaranteeing the rights of children and OVCs it has managed to put into place policy and legislative instruments to guarantee the rights of children. The notable policy initiative has been in the form of the NAP for OVCs I which started as a five year programme 31
(2005-2010) before going into the second phase to become the NAP for OVCs II. In the face of scarce and limited resources at the household level it is usually the educational needs of children which are sacrificed leading to children being withdrawn from schools as families struggle to balance priorities in the household. Therefore government initiatives like the cash transfers and BEAM which have been put in place through facing a number of challenges in their implementation are proving effective in ensuring that OVCs get access to education in the face of budgetary constraints at central and local government levels and limited resources at the household level.
6.0 Recommendations In line with the study findings the recommendations being made are that: Since selection principles of beneficiaries of BEAM have been put in place therefore this need to be adhered to in order for BEAM to be transparent and effective. It is further recommended that capacity building of BEAM selection committees be conducted in order to ensure fairness and transparency of the whole process. On paper the selection criteria for BEAM committee members was mainly viewed as realistic however challenges were noted in selection committees which were not properly constituted as some committees appeared to be aligned to political parties. Therefore it is recommended that there is need to depoliticize BEAM committee members as well as beneficiaries of BEAM and all school governance structures to ensure that anyone across the political divide benefits. Furthermore it is recommended that policies be put in place to ensure proper execution and monitoring of BEAM so that policies are followed by the latter for transparency. Evidence shows that in many cases the beneficiaries of BEAM in one year were being removed from the list of beneficiaries in the next year thereby lacking continuity of benefits, it is therefore recommended that there is in need for a strong policy to be put in place to ensure continuity of children placed on BEAM as leaving out other OVCs who would have benefitted in previous years was severely disadvantaging these OVCs. There is need to lobby policy makers to publicly publish funds disbursed under BEAM and also the names of the beneficiaries in order to increase accountability of use of funds.
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Civil society organizations also need to step up dissemination of information on BEAM initiative to the grassroots level. Ministry of Local Government needs to liase with other key stakeholders so that OVCs are not disenfranchised. For example this could be achieved by establishing inter Ministerial committees to look at the needs of OVCs as the needs of OVCs are cross cutting and cannot be realistically addressed by one Ministry. There is need to reduce the distance that children are walking to school in the rural areas as some of the distances travelled by young children are much further than the recommended Ministry of Education Sports and Culture stipulated radius of 3 kilometers from the nearest school. This could be done through construction and adequate resourcing of satellite schools. It is recommended that nutritional support for OVCs be provided at the community level or through supplementary food assistance at the household level rather than only at school point as is currently the norm as some OVCs who are not in the immediate school environment and also during holiday time are bound to miss out here. BEAM coverage also needs to be extended to the level of ECEC for OVCs as OVCS are sometimes failing to get access to or they are accessing ECEC much later than their counterparts who might end up having a head start ahead of the OVCs. Furthermore it is recommended that quality community-based early childhood care be also provided for OVCs just like with all other children. It is also recommended that the capacity of the family be strengthened to ensure protection and care for OVCs by prolonging the lives of parents through provision of ARVs thereby providing economic, psychosocial and others forms of support. It is also recommended that other associated costs of access to education in the form of paid “extra lessons” need to be removed as these appear to be disadvantaging children coming from limited resource backgrounds (in most cases the OVCs). There is therefore need to address the underlying factors that are creating an environment conducive for “extra lessons” like poor remuneration of teachers. If “extra lessons” are not to be abolished therefore it is recommended that acceleration and catch-up programmes for
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OVCs also be considered for example through peer and community support networks and parent teacher associations. There is need to increase awareness on the level of decentralization of the civil registration system as most participants seemed not to be aware of the levels and extent of decentralization of birth certificate registration. This is important as access to birth and death certificates is crucial in helping children get an identity as well as ensuring easy access to deceased parents‟ estates. There is need to provide more resources under the cash transfer programme as in the short term consistent cash transfers can help families to meet their immediate needs for education, food and healthcare as well as helping in reducing OVCs‟ vulnerability. It is also recommended that the Zunde Ramambo needs to be strengthened as it could prove effective in providing the first port of call for providing feeding schemes to OVCs in the community. To date, local authorities are not being funded by government with residents directly funding them from the monies they pay through rates and other activities they fund like parking, fines, renting etc. Central government must therefore fund local authorities and remove the burden from the already burdened Zimbabweans who are funding hefty salaries of council employees and the associated astronomic council budgets. Since Section 31 of the Councils Act provides for maintenance allowances for aged persons, mentally or physically handicapped persons, orphans and indigent persons it is recommended that in instances where the allowances for orphans have been discontinued these need to be resuscitated to ensure that local authorities take care of the vulnerable members (OVCs) in the communities living under their jurisdiction. The Elder Persons Bill of 2002 needs to be enacted into an Act of Parliament. Zimbabwe was one of the first countries in Southern Africa to propose an Older Persons‟ Bill however more than ten years since; the Bill is yet to become an act of parliament. Therefore such failure to enact the Bill is proving problematic as the elderly are usually the first point of care for OVCs in the backdrop of the impact of HIV and AIDS. It is also recommended that further research be carried out to look at the spectrum of possible disadvantages OVCs could be facing including educational progression and 34
outcome variables such as repetition, highest grade completion, learning outcomes, gender equity and the inclusivity of education to ensure OVCs do not miss out on education.
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References Boler T and Carroll, K, 2003, Addressing the Educational Needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children, London, ActionAid International and Save the Children Fund Cardoso, I. B, 2010, Establishing, Reviewing And Implementing National Plans Of Action For Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Southern And East Africa: Lessons Learnt And Challenges, Multi-Sectoral Workshop On Legal And Policy Frameworks Protecting Children, Pretoria, South Africa, April 20 – 21, 2010, Save The Children UK, SA Chitiyo, M and Wheeler, J, 2004, “The Development of Special Education Services in Zimbabwe” in International Journal of Special Education, Vol 19, No.2 Devereux, S and Sabates-Wheeler, R, 2004, Transformative Social Protection, IDS Working Paper 232, Institute Of Development Studies, Sussex Engle, P, 2008, National Plans Of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Where Are the Youngest Children? Working papers in Early Childhood Development, Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Netherlands Fanelli, C. W, 2006, Zimbabwe‟s Child-Friendly National Action Plan for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children: Adding Value by Facilitating Child Participation, Presented at the World Congress on Communication for Development Rome, Italy, 25-27 October 2006 Mushamba, S, 2010, “The Powers And Functions Of Local Government Authorities” in de Visser, J, Steytler, N and Machingauta, N (eds), 2010, Local Government Reform In Zimbabwe: A Policy Dialogue State, Peace and Human Security Studies, Bellville, University of the Western Cape National Action Plan of Zimbabwe Education for All Towards 2015, 2005, Government Of Zimbabwe Scott, K, 2012, http://www.Thezimbabwean.Co.Uk/News/Zimbabwe/57075/United-KingdomCommits-15-Million.Html
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