- Nthurima said KUPPET members seeking medical services have been turned back from private and mission health facilities.
- He said only public hospitals now offer services to teachers.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers is calling on the government to reinstate tutors' medical cover scheme which has been having issues over the past 9 months.
KUPPET Acting Secretary General Moses Nthurima said for more than a month now, the union has been receiving complaints from teachers from across the country over the inaccessibility of the medical cover scheme provided by the Teachers Service Commission.
Nthurima said as of July 8, 2024, nearly all private and mission hospitals accredited under the scheme had stopped providing services to teachers and their dependents.
"KUPPET demands the immediate reinstatement of the Scheme so that teachers can access the services due to them as a matter of right," he said.
He said only public hospitals now offer services to teachers, yet these are too few and often lack equipment or reagents for essential treatments.
Nthurima said KUPPET members seeking medical services have been turned back from private and mission health facilities in such diverse regions as Vihiga, Nyeri, Nairobi and Mombasa.
"Many teachers have been forced to pay for services from their own pockets while others are being detained at hospitals that have withdrawn their services for inpatient care," he said.
Though the government has paid a whooping Sh15 billion towards the medical scheme, Nthurima said teachers are back to the bad old days of holding fundraisings to offset medical and funeral expenses.
Further, the union said it is deeply concerned by the massive reduction of the budget for the Kenya National Examinations Council.
In the circular dated July 5, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u highlighted at least 24 areas that will be affected by budget cuts, which included 100 per cent cut for examination and invigilation fees.
Nthurima was concerned that the government has not factored in any money for the administration of national examinations.
"With only three months left before the examinations begin, this means that there will be no national examinations this year unless parents agree to foot the costs," he said.
"We have directly expressed our concerns over the low funding for KNEC to Parliament, the Treasury and the Ministry of Education."
He said the union will fight to secure proper financing of examination management, including collective bargaining for examiners.
"We also urge the government to safeguard the education sector and the country's efforts at manpower development even as it implements its austerity measures."