Ruto asks parents to register learners for SHIF when schools open

 

President William Ruto presides over the 2024 Jamhuri Day Celebrations held at Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum in Lang'ata, Nairobi County. [PCS]

Parents will be required to accompany their children to school in January to register them for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

President William Ruto issued the directive yesterday during Jamhuri Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi.

He announced that 16.6 million Kenyans have already been enrolled in the new scheme. “I am asking all parents, when learners report back to school, to accompany their children. TaifaCare requires all Kenyans to have medical coverage, and we want to register all children to better plan for their health needs,” the President said.

SHIF registration, which began on July 1, 2024, is positioned as a cornerstone of the Universal Health Coverage. This directive could bring significant relief to about 3.4 million learners who were left uninsured after the Sh4.5 billion EduAfya school insurance scheme was terminated.

This is not the first time the government has urged students to enroll under the new health scheme. In August, the Ministry of Education directed all students to register under SHIF before the third term began.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang emphasized that students must be enrolled as dependents under their parents’ SHIF accounts. “All school-going children must be registered as dependents under their parents’ SHIF accounts before the start of the third term in 2024,” read a circular issued on August 16, 2024.

Under SHIF, all Kenyans aged 18 and above are mandated to contribute to the fund to finance UHC. From October, the government began deducting 2.75 per cent of salaried workers' monthly income to support the scheme. Those without a steady income are required to pay a minimum of Sh300 monthly.

During his speech yesterday, President Ruto also announced that schools will benefit from recruitment of 20,000 new teachers in January. “We have recruited 56,000 teachers to address the shortage and have moved the national teacher-to-student ratio closer to the United Nations recommendation of one teacher for every 40 learners. This December, we are hiring an additional 20,000 teachers,” he said.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) reports a deficit of over 110,000 teachers nationwide, while the number of unemployed qualified teachers exceeds 380,000.

While appearing in Parliament previously, TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia said the shortfall has been occasioned by budgetary shortfall and emergence of new schools. The TSC has also planned to recruit an additional 8,000 teachers in January. This includes 5,862 teachers for primary schools, 2,824 for secondary schools, and only 21 for junior secondary schools.

Also underway is the plan to promote 24,000 tutors to be conducted in two phases.

In the first phase, 5,690 teachers, primarily those in acting capacities as school heads and deputies, will be promoted. TSC has already advertised these positions. The second phase, slated for next year, will see an additional 19,000 teachers promoted.