Elimu Bora Working Group calls for reinstatement of EduAfya amid rising student deaths

The Elimu Bora Working Group is demanding the immediate reinstatement of the EduAfya medical insurance scheme for all learners, citing what it describes as a troubling rise in preventable student deaths.

The group says recent tragedies in several schools have exposed serious weaknesses in emergency response, supervision and enforcement of safety standards.

The education stakeholders are also calling for independent and transparent investigations into the recent deaths, with firm accountability where negligence is established.

This is, even as the recent rise in sudden deaths of learners in schools raised serious questions about institutions’ readiness to handle medical emergencies and the education stakeholders now warn that gaps in supervision, delayed responses and limited access to healthcare are putting learners at risk.

“Even after the tragic fire at Endarasha in 2024, which exposed serious failures in compliance and oversight, it is evident that lessons were not learnt," said Elimu Bora Working Group member Griffin Ombogo.

The group enumerated seven recent cases that they say could have been prevented.

“It is very mandatory that every boarding institution has a nurse and regularly a clinical officer and a medic where circumstances call for, but unfortunately, it only happens in C1 schools," Elimu Bora Working Group member Boaz Ruku said.

The stakeholders argue that relying on parents’ Social Health Authority cover for learners is inadequate, especially during emergencies when delays in access to treatment can have fatal consequences.

“The government was taking up the cost of medical attention for these learners to a point where if they required transfer or airlifting or an ambulance. So we are saying SHA has failed to take up this responsibility because there are parents who are not even in SHA," another member David Karani noted.

Boaz added, “Those learners used to benefit greatly and the facilities did not fear handling them because they knew they would be paid, but when EduAfya was removed, this is where the situation is becoming more difficult.”

Another Mercy Gichengi said, “Institute mandatory, continuous training for teachers and school heads in first aid, basic life support, emergency medical response, risk assessment for co-curricular activities, and crisis management and communication.”

They are also calling for the establishment of an Education Standards and Quality Assurance Council to strictly enforce safety regulations and compliance in schools.