TSC Boss Nancy Macharia questioned about Teachers’ Medical Cover
TSC Boss Nancy Macharia questioned about Teachers’ Medical Cover. The Teacher Service Commission, Dr. Nancy Macharia, yesterday defended the medical insurance contract given to Minet Insurance in the face of criticism from several stakeholders in the education sector while testifying before the national assembly’s education committee.The committee was majorly questioning about Minet Medical Scheme winning the tender since 2015.
TSC Boss Nancy Macharia reaffirmed that the tendering process was handled correctly and that even the Attorney General concurred that it was legal when she spoke before members of the National Assembly Education Committee.
She informed the committee that after Minet’s previous contract expired, TSC sought to sign a deal with the National Insurance Hospital Fund (NHIF), but budgetary limitations proved to be a barrier.
Ms. Macharia informed the committee that in order for their members to participate in the NHIF national scheme, the commission would need to raise more than Ksh. 2 billion annually.
She struggled to explain why teachers are not treated equally under the private medical plan but rather are divided into different employment categories.
Teachers really wanted to attend NHIF, therefore we approached this committee, but there was no funding. The National Treasury instructed us to advertise, so we did,” said Ms. Macharia.
Due to the financial limitations encountered, Minet was once again awarded the medical scheme tender, which has three more years left until it expires. The agreement, which was finalized on December 1, 2022, is anticipated to provide public school teachers with health insurance.
Ms. Macharia criticized the committee and MPs for failing to provide funding as asked by the commission for teacher hiring and promotion.
Every financial year, the commission is requesting Ksh. 2 billion to address the teacher stagnation issue, which has become a sore spot for several years.
She said, “Even the promotion money that we are canvassing here today is money that is recurring. The last promotion money we received was in 2011, and since then we have never been granted money to promote teachers.”