More than 360,000 teachers have been excluded from the Social Health Authority (SHA) insurance scheme due to inadequate infrastructure across the country, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has revealed.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia, while appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee, disclosed that their plan to enrol teachers under SHA fell through after the Authority cited logistical unpreparedness.

According to her, SHA said it was unable to absorb the teachers this year, even if funding were available.

“We held a meeting with SHA before renewing our contract with Minet for this final year, and they told us they didn’t have enough structures. They said they would need Sh7 billion to enrol our teachers, but even then, they were not ready to take them on this year,” she told the committee.

She explained that the Commission had long aspired to transition educators from private insurance to a public scheme, a move they had also attempted under the now-defunct NHIF.

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"Last year, when we had issues with Minet, we wanted to move our teachers to SHA. We have always wanted to have our teachers under the national insurer, even during the NHIF days," Macharia stated.

The session was convened in response to mounting complaints from teachers across the country, many of whom say they are still unable to access adequate medical services — despite the ongoing Sh20 billion contract between TSC and Minet.

Committee Chairperson Julius Melly expressed outrage over the ineffectiveness of the current arrangement, referencing a harrowing case where a teacher was reportedly detained in hospital for three months over unpaid bills.

"What kind of insurance cover is this? It’s a mongrel; it has no head or tail. You have an insurer, a lead consortium, an administrator, a capitator — it’s a very funny type of insurance. You must get out of this thing," Melly said.

Luanda legislator Dick Maungu proposed that teachers be segmented into clusters to address bureaucratic bottlenecks, suggesting that regional or job group-based groupings might ease pressure on the current approval system.

"With Bliss Health Care being the master capitator and considering the large number of teachers, it becomes difficult for them to handle approvals in time — and that’s where the delays come in. Why is it not possible cluster teachers to narrow it down? Currently, the system is overwhelmed," Maungu remarked.

In her response, Macharia pointed to financial shortfalls and delayed disbursements as key challenges preventing a seamless insurance experience for teachers.

“If our teachers were to get the best medical services, they need to be fully insured. But we are unable to do that because of budgetary constraints. We also need timely disbursements to the consortium, because most times we delay,” she said.

The Committee is now expected to deliberate on possible reforms to the existing contract and explore options for integrating teachers into a more responsive and accountable healthcare scheme.