The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has threatened to call a nationwide strike that could paralyse school reopening in January over plans to move teachers from their private health insurance scheme to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Union officials, led by Makueni County KNUT Secretary-General Benson Ndambuki, accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of unfairly targeting teachers, arguing that other civil servants continue to enjoy private medical cover.
Ndambuki said the planned shift to SHA was discriminatory and warned that unless the TSC addresses their concerns, teachers across the country will down their tools when schools reopen.
He maintained that the union would not accept what he termed a forced transition to a public insurance scheme whose systems are still untested and unclear to members.
“This is an unfair move and discriminates against teachers compared to other government employees who still enjoy private cover,” Ndambuki said, adding that the TSC had failed to engage meaningfully with the unions.
“The unions have sent me, and I want to tell you that we are rejecting the move. We do not know why they are forcing this despite our resistance to the same,” he added.
KNUT has been vocal in opposing the government’s plan to replace the current scheme with SHA.
Meanwhile, the TSC has invited union leaders to a meeting in Nairobi on Monday to deliberate on the issue and address other emerging issues ahead of reopening.
Additionally, similar invitations have also been extended to the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) for a joint consultation session.
The row comes just months after President William Ruto directed the Ministry of Education, the SHA, and teacher unions to jointly evaluate the medical cover and develop a sustainable model that ensures teachers receive quality health services.
At the same time, on Friday, hundreds of junior secondary school (JSS) teachers staged demonstrations in Murang'a County, demanding that they be confirmed in permanent and pensionable positions ahead of the January 2026 school reopening.
The teachers, who are among nearly 20,000 JSS teachers recruited across the country on an internship basis in November last year, were deployed to schools in January 2025.
However, their one-year contracts are due to expire in December, and they have received no assurance that they will be taken on by the government.
The protesting teachers have expressed their frustration at the delay in confirming their positions, stating that the uncertainty has thrown their lives into turmoil.
