Zimsec Warns: US$71m Arrears Endanger Exams

Zimsec faces a US$71 million funding crisis due to government arrears (image source)

A parliamentary assessment has found that the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) is facing an acute funding crisis after the government accrued US$71 million in fee arrears, undermining the council’s ability to print, store and mark national exams on schedule and putting future examination cycles at risk.

Zimsec officials told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education that unpaid reimbursements under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and other fee arrears had stalled capital projects and left the council unable to fund a necessary US$4 million secondary processing line, creating a single-point-of-failure in printing and marking operations.

The immediate impact is both logistical and financial. Zimsec pays more than US$1 million annually on security alone through police escort fees, spends thousands of dollars daily on hired transport during peak cycles, and rents archival storage because regional hubs remain underfunded. Council officials say all of these costs are directly tied to government arrears.

Education officials and sector analysts warn that the arrears also produce operational risks that could affect exam integrity and learner outcomes. “The single processing line exposes the system to catastrophic failure during overlapping exams; without the US$4 million investment, contingency options are limited,” an education finance specialist said, citing the parliamentary briefing at Zimsec’s Norton headquarters.

Zimsec’s condition sits against a broader public-debt backdrop: Zimbabwe’s public-and-publicly-guaranteed debt stood at roughly US$21 billion as of end-December 2024. Domestic and external obligations continue to pressure fiscal space, contributing to delayed reimbursements to public agencies. That debt burden constrains Treasury’s ability to prioritise operational reimbursements alongside debt-service obligations and capital programmes.

Regional disparities in examination infrastructure were also highlighted by the committee. While the Gwanda regional hub meets security standards, offices in Bulawayo operate from dilapidated municipal buildings and remote districts such as Binga and Gokwe face extreme logistical costs and road challenges that raise transport expenses and prolong script movement.

Teachers and invigilators have felt the squeeze through delayed allowances that have, in some cases, interrupted invigilation and forced last-minute timetable changes — a development the committee said undermines standardised exam administration and worsens staff burnout in already understaffed centres.

Zimsec was created to administer national assessments and relies on government fee reimbursements to cover operational costs. Chronic arrears are not new, but the current scale — US$71 million as of March 2025 — represents a critical escalation that has deferred construction of regional hubs and weakened secure storage capacity.

The Portfolio Committee urged Treasury and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to prioritise clearing BEAM and other fee arrears and to mobilise emergency funding for the secondary processing line. Oversight hearings and a timeline for disbursements are expected in Parliament this quarter, while schools and parents await clarity on how disruptions will be managed.