Procurement bottlenecks to hamper impact of K806m schools grant

Professional Teachers Union of Zambia General Secretary Kangwa Musenge has described the procurement process in government schools as a huge challenge affecting the purchase of learning materials.

This follows the government’s release of K806 million in the fourth quarter of 2026 as a grant to complete the over K2.3 billion annual funding provision to support free education, sustain school operations, and ease the financial burden on parents and guardians.

. Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times (ZBT), Musaenge noted that despite the K800 million release being a positive move, the biggest challenge in various schools is the issue of a lengthened procurement process introduced by the government.

“The procurement process which has been introduced by the government has slowed-down the use of grants given to schools in the country, where the school management is forced to apply to the District Education Board for the purchase of learning materials, which has really hampered management in various schools, especially when it comes to acquiring chalk, manila paper and many other materials,” said Musenge.

He added that the process has slowed down the purchase of school items because each district in the country only has one procurement officer.