Claim
The Patriotic Front-PF Facebook page on Monday, October 17, 2022 posted a statement in which opposition Patriotic Front party Media Director Antonio Mwanza claimed the Government had failed to release the grant allocation for secondary and primary schools for term three. He said this had led to panic and uncertainty as schools struggled to prepare for the upcoming exams due to lack of funding. Mr. Mwanza said the Government’s poor management of the educational system not only frustrated educators and school administrators, but also destroyed the quality of education being given to the children. He also claimed the failure rate had worsened adding that the popularist free education programme would be ineffective if the government failed to adequately support schools, making the policy itself pointless.
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia has determined as false, the assertion by the Patriotic Front Media Director, Antonio Mwanza, that the government had failed to release the grant allocation for secondary and primary schools for term three, leading to panic and uncertainty as schools struggled to prepare for the upcoming exams due to a lack of funding. But in a statement issued by Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane and posted on the Ministry’s official Facebook page, Government said it released K442.2 million to all schools, marking the final grant allocation under the free education programme. The minister affirmed that with the release of the K442.2 million 4th quarter grants, the entire 2022 budget allocation of K1.8 billion targeted at school grants had now been disbursed. The minister also stated that the budget for administrative matters and for conducting examinations was provided separately from the school grants under the free education policy. He said funds for examinations were channelled directly to the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ), and not to individual schools. Dr. Musokotwane clarified that the entire 2022 budget allocation for the administration and conducting of examinations, totalling K60.5 million, was disbursed to the ECZ in July 2022, to allow for ample time to prepare materials and logistical requirements for primary and secondary examinations. Therefore, the statement by Patriotic Front Media Director, Antonio Mwanza, claiming that the government had failed to release the grant allocation for secondary and primary schools for term three, leading to panic and uncertainty as schools struggled to prepare for the upcoming exams due to a lack of funding, is false.
