Kenya’s National Treasury plans to bring public schools onto the government’s electronic procurement system in a renewed effort to curb corruption and improve transparency in the management of public funds. The rollout will move school tenders from manual processes to the centralised Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) platform, allowing authorities to track contracts, suppliers and procurement decisions.
The reform comes as the government allocates KSh92.3 billion to basic education capitation in the 2026/2027 financial year. The funding comprises KSh54.6 billion for free day secondary education, KSh30.7 billion for junior secondary schools and KSh7 billion for free primary education.
The money supports essential school operations, including the purchase of textbooks and laboratory supplies, classroom repairs, sanitation, electricity, water and co-curricular activities. Digitising the procurement process is expected to improve oversight of how institutions spend the allocations and help identify irregularities in supplier selection and contract awards.
According to the Treasury, the e-GP platform has been connected to key government systems, including the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), Business Registration Services, e-Citizen and the Kenya Revenue Authority’s iTax platform. The integration is intended to improve the verification of suppliers and connect procurement transactions with government financial and administrative records.
The electronic system is designed to publish tender notices, facilitate online bid submissions, record contract awards and create digital audit trails. These features could make it easier for regulators to compare prices, identify the companies benefiting from public contracts and investigate suspicious procurement decisions.
The planned rollout follows longstanding concerns about limited disclosure of tender winners and allegations of inflated prices and predetermined awards in public institutions. School uniform procurement has also attracted scrutiny after complaints that some secondary schools require parents to purchase uniforms from designated suppliers at prices higher than those available elsewhere.
In February 2026, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority directed national and extra-county schools to disclose uniform suppliers, quantities, prices and the tendering processes behind contract awards. Schools were also required to submit supporting documents through the Public Procurement Information Portal, with non-compliance potentially leading to referrals to investigative agencies.
The Treasury’s latest plan builds on Kenya’s wider shift towards electronic public procurement, which was launched in April 2025 to improve competition, accountability and value for money. However, the transition has faced practical challenges, including delays in training school personnel on how to use the platform.
In March 2026, public schools were temporarily allowed to continue procuring goods and services manually because the necessary training had not been rolled out. The latest announcement signals the government’s intention to extend digital procurement to schools as implementation progresses.
The success of the reform will depend on effective training, reliable systems and compliance by school administrators and suppliers. While electronic records can make procurement easier to audit, stronger enforcement and timely disclosure will remain essential to ensuring that education funds reach learners and support classroom needs.
