The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has demanded the immediate reinstatement of the withdrawn medical insurance scheme for tutors.
The union said health facilities under the scheme had announced the suspension of services with effect from Monday, July 8 and that some of its members had been denied services in regions such as Vihiga, Nyeri, Nairobi, and Mombasa.
“As of Monday, July 8, nearly all private and mission hospitals accredited under the scheme had stopped providing services to teachers and their dependants. Only public hospitals now offer services to teachers, yet these are too few and often lack equipment or reagents for lab tests, and even the process of seeing doctors is a problem,” said Mr Moses Nthurima, Kuppet’s acting secretary-general.
The union has also demanded that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) explain to the country why teachers are suffering despite the huge investment by the government in the medical insurance scheme.
“Many teachers have been forced to pay for services out of their own pockets, while others are being detained in various hospitals that have withdrawn their inpatient healthcare services,” the trade unionist said.
The teachers, Mr Nthurima added “are supposed to attend to students and they cannot because they are sick.”
“Whereas the government has paid a whopping Sh15 billion towards the medical scheme, teachers are back to the bad old days of holding fundraising events to offset medical and funeral expenses,” said the Kuppet boss.
The union leader further emphasised that having access to medical care is a matter of human dignity. Without the means to afford medical attention, the Kuppet boss said, one's dignity is completely undermined.
“These teachers are pillars in their communities. Kuppet demands the immediate reinstatement of the scheme so that teachers can access the services due to them as a matter of right,” Mr Nthurima said
At the same time, Kuppet has expressed concerns about what he claimed was the reduction of the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) budget.
‘No national examinations’
"The council's budget has been cut to zero and the government has not allocated any money for the administration of national examinations. With only three months left before the examinations begin, this means there will be no national examinations this year unless parents agree to foot the costs," said Kuppet National Chairman Omboko Milemba.
Mr Milemba complained that, even after the government has made basic education free, parents have continued to pay examination fees.
“We must safeguard the integrity of national examinations, which will be administered in the next three months,” said Mr Milemba, who is also the Emuhaya member of Parliament.
Echoing Mr Nthurima’s sentiments on the medical insurance cover, Mr Milemba said many hospitals had complained of not receiving payments from TSC.
“We are requesting the Teachers' Service Commission to ensure that, when teachers go for treatment, the responsibility for their medical bills is taken over by the commission. The commission must act as a surrogate parent for the teachers. Therefore, we urge them to allocate the promised funds so that the scheme can be fully supported,” Mr Milemba said.
