The Treasury has released the last K806.1 million of this year’s school grants inside the first two weeks of the quarter. The full 2026 provision of more than K2.3 billion is now in schools’ hands, and so is the obligation to account for it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Ministry of Finance and National Planning has released K806.1 million in fourth-quarter school grants through the Ministry of Education, completing a 2026 allocation of more than K2.3 billion for government-supported public schools.
- The money pays for school feeding, teaching and learning materials, learner welfare programmes and maintenance of school buildings, the running costs that parents covered through fees before free education began in 2022.
- The fourth tranche arrived within the first two weeks of the quarter. In January, the first tranche was late enough for the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) to raise the alarm two days after schools reopened.
- Finance Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane says compliance with public financial management rules is “mandatory and non-negotiable”, warning that misapplication of funds, unauthorised spending and failure to account will not be accepted.
- The harder question is quality: Ministry of Education figures put the number of additional learners at more than 2.3 million in four years, and some classrooms now hold over 100 pupils.
Zambia’s public schools now have their full 2026 operating budget. The Ministry of Finance and National Planning has released K806.1 million in school grants for the fourth quarter, bringing total releases for the year to more than K2.3 billion. The funds went through the Ministry of Education within the first two weeks of the quarter.
School grants are the cash that keeps a free school running day to day. They buy chalk, exercise books and textbooks, fund school feeding and learner welfare, and pay for broken windows, leaking roofs and toilets. Before free education, much of this came from fees and levies collected from parents. Since 2022 it has come from the Treasury.
What does the K806.1 million pay for?
According to the Treasury, the fourth-quarter release will finance four lines of spending:
- school feeding programmes;
- teaching and learning materials;
- learner welfare programmes; and
- maintenance of school infrastructure.
The fourth tranche alone is roughly a third of the year’s total. It lands as schools head into end-of-year examinations, when spending on materials and examination logistics tends to rise.
Why the timing matters
A grant that arrives late is a grant that cannot be planned. Head teachers who do not know when money will land either delay purchases or run up debts with suppliers. The Ministry of Finance makes the same point in its statement: timely financing lets administrators plan expenditure and keeps disruption to learning to a minimum.
The year did not start that smoothly. On 14 January, two days after schools reopened for the first term, NAQEZ Executive Director Dr Aaron Chansa said public schools were still waiting for their first-quarter grants and that some were reporting disorganisation as a result. He also acknowledged that the Treasury had generally met the obligation over the previous three years. The fourth quarter, released early in the period, is the other end of that record.
Free education has changed the size of the system
Government describes predictable school grants as an investment in human capital, and the scale of the system they now support is much larger than it was in 2021. Ministry of Education figures, cited in February 2026, show more than 2.3 million additional learners entering school in four years. Over the same period government reported hiring more than 40,000 teachers, building 3,000 classrooms and delivering 1.4 million desks.
For households, the effect is direct. A family with three children in a government school no longer pays termly fees and many of the levies that came with them. For the poorest households, that is often the difference between a child staying in class and dropping out.
Is access now running ahead of quality?
The Treasury’s own statement says expanded access “must be matched by improvements in educational quality”. That is the live debate. Opposition politicians have argued that classrooms in some schools now exceed 100 pupils, and education officials have accepted that overcrowding is a serious, if temporary, problem.
A school grant cannot fix a teacher shortage or build a classroom on its own. It can keep textbooks in supply, keep children fed and keep buildings in usable condition. Whether the K2.3 billion improves learning outcomes depends on how carefully each school spends its share, and on whether that spending is tracked.
“Account for every Kwacha”
That is where the Minister placed his emphasis. School authorities are required to prioritise essential needs, follow procurement and financial management procedures and account for every Kwacha received.
“Accounting staff in schools and other public institutions are expected to provide timely and accurate financial guidance to management and supervisory authorities, ensuring that all expenditure decisions comply with established procedures,” Dr Musokotwane said.
“Misapplication of funds, unauthorised expenditure, and failure to account for public resources will not be accepted,” he added, describing compliance with public financial management regulations as mandatory and non-negotiable.
The warning is not abstract. Grants spread across thousands of schools are hard to monitor, and weaknesses in record-keeping, procurement and retirement of imprests at district and school level are recurring themes in Auditor General reports on public spending. Our plain-language guide to the Auditor General’s report explains how those findings are classified.
What it means for businesses
School grants are spent locally. Stationery suppliers, printers, food vendors for feeding programmes, builders and hardware shops in district towns all compete for this money. With the full year’s funding released, schools will be placing orders through the last term. Suppliers should expect schools to ask for quotations, receipts and paperwork that meets procurement rules, since the Minister has made clear that schools will be held to account for every payment.
What happens next
With all four tranches released, attention moves to the 2027 Budget and the size of next year’s provision. The Treasury has already signalled tight room for new spending, with only K6.9 billion left for other programmes once fixed commitments are met.
The test the Ministry has set is the right one. The impact of school grants should show up in better learning conditions, better examination results and lasting financial relief for Zambian families. Parents, school boards and Parent Teacher Associations are entitled to ask their schools how this year’s money was spent.
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