Moses Kuria: Unregistered Students May Be Sent Home in January Over New Health Scheme

Schools may be forced to turn away students without registration for the Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme when they reopen in January. Senior government advisor Moses Kuria announced the plan, emphasizing the government’s push for 100% adoption of Taifa Care.

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Speaking during a Homecoming Sabbath at SDA Church Ngarariga, Limuru, Kuria expressed concern over the low registration rates among children and revealed that sending unregistered students home could be a strategy to ensure all Kenyans enroll in the new health scheme.

“If you are a parent and you have registered yourself for SHA and have not registered your child, the record that is being kept at the school of your child will be set aside this January,” Kuria asserted.

He added, “Starting January, we are going to set aside all the records of children in schools. And for your child to be accepted back to school, you must have registered them for SHA.”

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Government Pushes for SHA Adoption Ahead of January School Reopening

Schools across Kenya will reopen for the first term on January 6, 2025, but unregistered students might be sent home due to non-compliance with the Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme, as revealed by government advisor Moses Kuria.

While the Ministry of Education remains silent on the matter, it had earlier insisted that parents must register their children under the scheme. During the SHA rollout in October, then Health CS Susan Nakhumicha removed the cap on dependents, allowing families to register unlimited children and accommodating polygamous families without extra charges.

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The government has intensified efforts to boost SHA adoption, using door-to-door campaigns by Community Health Providers (CHPs) and collaborating with churches and county leaders. So far, 14 million Kenyans have registered, including 8 million new enrollees.

This policy marks a bold step toward achieving universal health coverage as schools prepare to reopen.