Teachers are heading into a crunch meeting with their employer tomorrow (Monday) armed with an array of demands on the plan to move nearly 400,000 of them to be covered under the Social Health Authority (SHA) medical scheme, with group life cover and the removal of pre-authorisation requirements topping the list.
They are also demanding a full breakdown of benefits and guarantees before the planned transition to the Social Health Authority (SHA) medical scheme, citing concerns over accessibility, service delays, and lack of transparency.
With the current teachers’ medical cover set to expire on November 30, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is pushing ahead with plans to shift more than 390,000 teachers and their dependants from the Sh20 billion Minet medical scheme to the SHA scheme from 1 December.
Acting Teachers Service Commission CEO Evaleen Mitei when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Education at Pride Inn Paradise in Mombasa County on September 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation Media Group
TSC acting chief executive officer Evaleen Mitei has called for the talks on Monday, one of a series the teachers’ employer has held with stakeholders.
In September, union leaders met with TSC; during the meeting, SHA presented its plan, claiming it would give teachers broader access to more than 9,000 health facilities nationwide compared to about 800 currently accessible under Minet.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu said teachers will not accept anything less than a medical cover that includes group life cover, timely medical services, and accessible hospitals.
Teachers, Mr Oyuu said, have struggled to access healthcare, with some forced to travel to other counties and others experiencing long delays at hospitals.
“One thing that has been missing is what we call group life cover. Minet has not been able to provide this for teachers, and it is very important. We also want to know how effective and timely the services will be under SHA, because we cannot have teachers waiting on benches at hospitals. We are very particular about this, and we need assurance that the speed of service will actually improve,” the Knut boss told Sunday Nation.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Collins Oyuu.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Mr Oyuu said teachers are demanding full clarity before any transition takes place, insisting they will not be pushed into a scheme whose terms remain unclear.
“Teachers deserve complete transparency. Before December 1, we must be shown the full benefits, the hospital network, and guarantees that no teacher will be stranded in a health facility. We cannot accept a cover we do not understand,” said Mr Oyuu.
The top Knut official added that teachers are deeply concerned about service delays and the risk of being turned away by hospitals, warning that the new SHA scheme must demonstrate real improvement.
“Our members have suffered enough under slow approvals and lack of coordination. If SHA is to replace the current provider, it must prove that teachers will access timely and dignified healthcare,” Mr Oyuu said.
He also questioned whether teachers will be forced through the referral system, which would mean being asked to visit low-level dispensaries first before seeking care in top hospitals.
“Teachers have also raised serious concerns about the accessibility of hospitals under the proposed scheme. They told us they are offering many more facilities under SHA. If you talk of this number of hospitals, we were told they are over 1,500, then give us the list, because we will not accept dispensaries,” said Mr Oyuu.
According to TSC, plans are at an advanced stage to migrate teachers from the Minet cover to the Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme.
The commission said it has already engaged key education stakeholders to elaborate on the benefits of joining the new medical scheme.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Akelo Misori agrees with Mr Oyuu, insisting that any new scheme must build upon the services currently offered under Minet and remain comprehensive, including details on capitation levels, conditions of service, authorisation procedures, and all other terms.
“We are demanding that any new scheme must build upon the services currently offered under Minet and be comprehensive. The union will demand information on capitation levels, conditions of service, authorisation terms, and indeed all conditions under the new scheme. The Commission claims that the new scheme is ready for implementation from December 1, 2025, yet it has not shared any details with the union as required under public participation principles,” said Mr Misori.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Akelo Misori speaks to the media at the union’s headquarters in Nairobi on August 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
His deputy in the union, Mr Moses Nthurima, insists that their demands are non-negotiable: unlimited access to all hospitals, including private facilities, without pre-authorisation requirements; and both inpatient and outpatient services, noting that the previous scheme under Minet Insurance Brokers had been inconsistent and left teachers with limited options.
“The new scheme must allow teachers to access hospitals in their home counties and ensure they can choose the facilities they want to use. It should also include life cover, which has not been offered under the previous medical cover,” Mr Nthurima said.
National Secretary Kenya Teachers Health and Welfare Association (Kethawa) Ndung’u Wangenye has cautioned the government against moving teachers to the SHA plan without first guaranteeing them a comprehensive health cover.
He warned that the livelihoods of more than 400,000 teachers and their dependants could be jeopardised if the new scheme is implemented without proper structures and clear benefits.
