42 percent of children in rural areas not going to school : ZimVAC report

According to the latest Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) report, 42 percent of the children in the rural areas are out of school. The children are failing to go to school due to long distances, illnesses and other hardships.

Part of the report reads:

The proportion of children not attending school due to illness is a cause for concern. We recommend the prioritisation of resource allocation towards the strengthening of the School Feeding and School Health Programmes. The proportion of children of school going age who were not in school due to financial constraints remains significant. There is need for the Government to increase Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) funds so that vulnerable children can be supported.

The reason that children were being considered too young to go to school and that of schools being too far may be suggestive of limited physical access to school, particularly those that cater for Early Child Development levels.

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