Fazul decries double taxation on teachers as new medical scheme takes effect

A fresh wave of discontent is sweeping across Kenya’s teaching fraternity following the implementation of new medical access rules that educators say leave them financially exposed and effectively “taxed twice” for healthcare services.

Effective December 1, 2025, all teachers under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) lost the medical allowances previously embedded in their salaries and are now required to pay out-of-pocket “fees for service” under the Public Officers Medical Scheme Fund (POMSF), administered through the Social Health Authority (SHA). This is in addition to ongoing statutory SHA deductions reflected on their payslips.

The development has sparked outrage among teachers, union officials, and policy observers who argue that the transition was executed without adequate consultation, public participation, or protection of teachers’ welfare—despite affecting more than 400,000 educators nationwide.

For years, teachers received medical allowances as part of their basic pay, funds that were later redirected to support a medical insurance cover procured by TSC through a consortium of private insurers.

Although the shift drew criticism—primarily due to inadequate specialized facilities in some regions—teachers still benefited from two parallel systems: their statutory NHIF (now SHA) contributions and the private insurance paid for using the scrapped allowances.

However, the latest transition to POMSF has collapsed this dual structure, leaving teachers with a single option even though they argue they are still funding both systems.

Former Director-General of the Public Service Regulatory Authority (PSRA) says this is a bad deal for teachers.

“It is incomprehensible that a Kenyan teacher is required to pay statutory deductions to SHA and still pay at the point of service under POMSF. That is the very definition of double taxation,” said Mahamed who has publicly criticized the TSC’s administrative actions.

He said the unions representing the teachers need to address the matter.

Teachers say the new arrangement strips them of all the medical privileges they previously enjoyed—either through allowances or the private insurance cover—while imposing new financial burdens with no corresponding benefits.

Many argue that if private insurance is being phased out, then medical allowances must be reinstated to cushion them.

Educators also accuse TSC of violating constitutional principles, including the right to fair administrative action, public participation in policy changes, and the economic rights of workers.

“This is economic sabotage disguised as reform. Teachers are being punished for a system they did not design, did not approve, and were not consulted on,” said a teacher in Nairobi, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

The TSC has yet to issue a comprehensive public statement addressing the concerns or clarifying how the new deductions and service fees align with constitutional requirements and labour protections.

As discontent grows across the country, teachers are calling on Parliament, education unions, and civil society to intervene and push for immediate reforms—including the reinstatement of medical allowances or a reversal of the POMSF implementation.

For now, the country’s educators say they are left feeling unprotected, unheard, and burdened by a system they describe as “unfair, punitive, and unsustainable.”