Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Minister of Higher Education Professor Amon Murwira criticised the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics ) Programme saying that it was not benefitting the disadvantaged. The programme which was the brainchild of Murwira’s predecessor, Professor Jonathan Moyo, was said to have many irregularities. Said Murwira
STEM is the ministry itself. It’s what it must do. However, one of the problems that we have seen with the A Level scholarship programme has been fraught with irregularities, that’s why we are doing a forensic audit so that we can qualify on that.
As a policy, government or state money normally goes to the disadvantaged. I think it’s within the Ubuntu, Hunhu philosophy.
The way the scholarship programme has been framed is such that very able people who can pay fees had their children paid for meaning mwana wambuya Deketeke (grandmother Deketeke’s child) who is supposed to be the focus of government money has not been very well catered for.
If a parent can send their children to a private school where monies in excess of $3 000 are being paid per term, they don’t need government support.
Professor Amon Murwira has already suspended the programme saying that the Government is suspending paying fees for Advanced level STEM students.
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