The Ministry of Education is considering opening its contract with the Duffy Books in Homes programme to competitive tender.
A briefing paper shows it renewed the contract for providing free books to children in poor communities until the end of 2027, but intended to “explore a competitive tender process ahead of any further contract renewals”.
The ministry said its contract was with the Alan Duff Charitable Foundation, which funded the Duffy Books programme.
It provided at least 550,000 books to over 550 schools and about 40,000 books to more than 200 early childhood centres.
The programme also ran theatre shows and school assemblies with role models, it said.
“We want to be assured that we are getting the highest possible value for money with this contract. A procurement process will help us determine if there are other suppliers interested and capable of delivering these services,” the ministry said.
It said the whole-of-life value of the contract since July 2025 would be $16.6million.
Duffy Books in Homes general manager Linda Vagana said the ministry’s funding covered about a third of the organisation’s work.
She said it paid for two free books for each child in participating schools in term two each year, and bridged the gap when schools could not find a partner to fund half the cost of books for their pupils.
Vagana said a competitive tender was unusual but she understood the ministry’s funding was tight.
“This is obviously something that’s now part of the process,” she said.
Vagana said the programme had been running for 32 years and communities needed it. She said it was about more than just dropping books at schools.
“It’s also about telling the stories and having kids see themselves in the role models that we send out to all the schools,” she said.
“We’re able to ensure that ambassadors, every time the books are received, are in front of an assembly and sharing their love of reading and passing on the messages on the importance of reading.”