Ksh2M life cover or chaos: Kwale teachers issue ultimatum on SHA scheme
Teachers in Kwale have escalated their protests, issuing new demands to the government over what they describe as a flawed and demeaning Social Health Authority (SHA) medical scheme.
The educators, under the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), accused the government of forcefully enrolling them into the programme without consultation and ignoring their welfare concerns.
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“In SHA we only have the last expense, not group life. It means when a teacher dies, the family gets nothing. We want a group life cover of not less than two million shillings,” he said.
Oronje warned that teachers will intensify their pushback if the government fails to address the issues urgently, signalling that the unrest among teachers is far from over.
Oronje said the teachers will closely monitor the performance of the SHA medical cover for the next three months, warning that if the scheme fails to meet teachers’ needs, they will “force their way out” of it.
Among their additional demands is an ex gratia payment of Ksh200,000 for teachers, which Oronje says would cushion them when their benefits are fully exhausted.
He criticised the current structure of the cover, noting that once a teacher depletes their medical limit, the scheme offers no supplementary support.
“With SHA, when a teacher’s limit is exhausted, that’s the end of it. There are no additional funds to sustain treatment,” he said.
The union is also pushing for a major upgrade to the maternity package, raising it to over Ksh500,000, and ensuring it covers premature infants comprehensively.
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Adenya further criticised the government for rushing the transition to SHA without conducting public participation, saying teachers were never allowed to voice their concerns.
Another teacher, Bakari Mwanduni, questioned the fairness of the maternity package distribution under the SHA scheme, accusing the government of disadvantaging younger, more productive teachers.
He said it was illogical for teachers in lower job groups who are mostly young and in their childbearing years to receive Ksh120,000, while those in higher job groups, who are older, receive Ksh300,000.
“I fail to understand how those in lower job groups get Ksh120,000 while the older ones in higher groups get Ksh300,000 for maternity cover,” he said.
Mwanduni argued that the maternity cover must be reviewed and adjusted to ensure equity and suitability for teachers across all age groups.
