President William Ruto.
The government is upbeat to meet its target of enrolling over 15 million learners in Early Childhood Development and Education centres (ECDEs), primary/comprehensive and secondary schools across the country in the Taifa Care programme during this first term.
According to government officials, all learners in both public and private schools are targeted for enrolment in the public health insurance scheme.
Community Health Promoters have been instructed to pitch camp in the institutions of learning to enroll all the learners before the first term ends in April.
The new scheme is different from the Sh4 billion EduAfya programme medical scheme under the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) that only catered to secondary school students learning in public schools and registered under the National Educational Management Information System (Nemis).
According to President Ruto and the Health ministry, more than 17 million Kenyans had been registered under Taifa Care, a Universal Health Coverage scheme, by mid-January.
“The Ministry of Education applauds the timing of this exercise since our schools have fewer restrictions during Term One of the school calendar, as opposed to Term Three, when we administer national examinations," said Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
In Term Three, Form Four students sit for their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination as Grade Six learners are assessed for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
KPSEA is administered at Grade Six before they transition to Junior Secondary School (JSS). However, the results are not used to place candidates in JSS but to monitor their learning progress.
Data from the Ministry of Education show that currently, there are about 15 million learners registered in primary/comprehensive and secondary schools in Kenya.
Parents from several schools have admitted to receiving communication about the ongoing registration.
However, those with learners in boarding schools have urged the Ministry of Education to provide modalities on how the exercise will be conducted.
Initially, President William Ruto had asked parents to accompany their children to school for registration during school reopening.
Some principals have begun sending mobile text messages urging parents and guardians to register their children.
Mr Ogamba said his ministry alongside the Ministry of Interior are consulting to ensure all children who do not have birth certificates are issued with the crucial documents.
"As you register the learners in the Taifa Care we are taking records of those who do not have birth certificates and the Registration Bureau will also register the children and issue them with birth certificates,” he added.
The CS urged parents to provide the primary registration data upon which the details of learners will be embedded.
“All parents must ensure they are all registered in the Taifa Care programme, and that they list their respective children as dependents, as a way of paving the way to the easy enlisting of all our learners," said the CS.
Mr Ogamba said Taifa Care is designed to protect families from the high costs of healthcare by covering ‘preventive and promotive’ health services for learners.
By enrolling their children as dependents for Taifa Care, the CS said parents will ensure the learners stay healthy, learn better, and avoid missing school due to illness.
“At the school level, Taifa Care presents a commendable upgrade of the EduAfya programme, which only catered for Secondary School children. Under the Taifa Care, all primary and secondary school learners can now access medical cover,” he added.
Henceforth, all learners will be entitled to regular health screenings, vaccination, and hygiene promotion.
“I urge all parents to enroll all their children as dependents," added the CS.
The CS said the programme aims to reduce poverty by lowering healthcare costs and improving children’s academic outcomes for a brighter future.
