The High Court has temporarily overruled a directive by the Ministry of Education that mandated all school-going children to be registered as their parent's dependents in the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
In a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya, the High Court has ruled that school-going children will not be required to register their details yet.
Justice Jairus Ngaah of the High Court ruled that the status quo before the directive by the Ministry of Education be maintained until the case was determined.
"Status quo before the issue of challenged directive August 16, 2024, shall be maintained pending hearing and determination of the substantive motion or further orders of the court."
The High Court also noted that the directory was ambiguous and unreasonable in that it imposed a duty on the parents of the school-going children and at the same time imposed a supervisory duty of the same on the schools and the respondents which is illogical, irrational, and outrageous.
In their petition, LSK told the court that the decision by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health was illegal since SHIF had been declared unconstitutional.
"We note that the SHIF was declared unconstitutional by the High Court in Petition E473 of 2023, and the decision has not been varied", read part of the petition.
Additionally, LSK argued that the order would deny children their right to basic education under the guise of compulsory registration as dependents of their parents based on a non-existent law.
"It is an irreconcilable act of impunity to threaten the education of our children to coerce Kenyans into subscribing to an illegal enterprise. The circular by the Ministry of Education is not only bad in law, it is insensitive, irrational, and inimical to the role of the ministry in ensuring the best standards of education for our children." the petition continued.
Following the ruling Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo has advised all school administrators to desist from denying any student access to school on account of not registering for SHIF.
On August 16th, the government through the Ministry of Education issued a circular instructing regional and county education directors to ensure all parents register their children as dependents under SHIF before the beginning of the third term.
“As a key enabler towards the realization of Universal Health Coverage, all school-going children are required to register as dependents of their parents before school opening dates for the third term 2024,” read the circular dated 16 August 2024.
The case will be heard on 8 October 2024.
