the High Court on 24 October overturned an irrational decision by ZIMSEC to bar a 15-yearold teenager from sitting and writing her Ordinary Level examinations after demanding that the minor should be in possession of an identity document, or passport, or driver’s licence bearing her picture. Education There was an increase in school dropouts, which was reported at 13 000.21Mostly the drop-outs were influenced by the inability of parents and guardians to meet the cost of education, and the insufficiency of the government-administered Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) program budget to cover all vulnerable and needy children. The BEAM programme for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) administered by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare owed the Ministry over US$87 million, amounting to about 85% of the claims. Dr Sylvia-Utete Masango the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education revealed that Zimbabwe was short of 2,056 schools.22 Children with Special Needs A higher percentage of disabled children were not in the schooling system for the reasons of inadequate family resources, stigma and societal attitudes. Most schools are not disability-friendly and do not have the necessary learning aids. For instance, in a 2015 study by the Ministries of Health and Child Care; Primary and Secondary Education and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; UNICEF and the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (ZimStats), called “Living Conditions Among Persons with Disability”, 23it was revealed that fewer individuals with disability have ever attended formal education and that 52% of disabled children have no access to education in spite of Zimbabwe's record of 93% literacy rate among its school-going children. Children who are hard of hearing faced peculiar challenges with education. Despite the Constitution in section 16 making sign language an official language, sign language was yet to be taught in schools. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust on several occasions sought engagement with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education on the subject, but the Ministry is yet to operationalise the constitutional promise to ensure that all deaf children are accorded their right to education. As at the end of 2018 there were 8,500 schools in the country. The 1,066 children enrolled at Tokwe Mukosi Primary School in Chingwizi in Masvingo province, sometimes missed lessons during some days when it rained because there were no proper classrooms. Moreover, school children could not participate in sporting activities because there were no resources to facilitate such participation. New curriculum material was distributed to 6,000 out of 8,500 schools. Some teachers were undergoing training at the University of Zimbabwe and Bindura University and other polytechnics to operationalise the new curriculum. ZIMSEC faced challenges with the integrity of the examination process. Mathematics and English November 2017 examination papers leaked, leading to several suspended results for some candidates. On 14 February 2018 the High Court nullified the directive issued by Primary and Secondary Education Minister Paul Mavima ordering a rewrite of the English Paper 2 examination by over 260,000 candidates as irrational and unreasonable. The basis for ZIMSEC's decision were allegations of widespread cheating . The court decision resulted in the board of ZIMSEC being suspended pending investigations over examination mismanagement. In another case Socio-economic Protection Economic deterioration resulted in child socioeconomic protection taking a knock. There was a high number of children living and working on the streets. ZNCWC interviewed 231 children, and the commonly expressed sentiment was that children did not want to be institutionalised, but they wanted to be reunited with their families. A number of children on the streets have previously been institutionalised but escaped from such institutions. 21. See http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/over-13-000-pupils-drop-out-of-school 22. Presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Education at the 2019 pre-budget consultation, 23 October 2018. 23. See report here: https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/resources_16272.html 35 STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ZIMBABWE 2018