When your child falls ill in school…

By Harold Ayodo
When a student becomes ill or suffers an injury, which between the parent and school is responsible for ensuring they get proper treatment and pays medical bill?
Even though all students get sick at some point, few parents and guardians give much thought to whether their children can access quality medical care, especially during an emergency, in school.
Some realise they should have been more concerned about their child’s medical welfare when it is too late. This was true in the case of Mrs Karin Rapp, the programme director of the Youth Sponsorship Programme, an organisation that offers bursaries and support to needy, bright students in public secondary schools. She was confident that the medical needs of the students were covered by medical fees, one of the items in tuition fees. Besides, the Government allocates Sh300 to every student for medical costs through the subsidised secondary education programme. Many schools charge additional money ranging from Sh100 to Sh500. "The money cannot even treat malaria," says Bondo’s Majiwa Secondary School principal Dick Owade.
Hospital
So when the principal of a national school called to inform Rapp that a Form Four student supported by the programme was sick, she immediately picked her up and took her to St Mary’s Hospital.
At the private hospital in Lang’ata doctors told her the students had to undergo surgery. "I paid the bill of Sh19, 000 expecting a refund from the school since I had paid an insurance fee of Sh1, 290 and Sh370 medical fees," she says. Two years later, the school is yet to reimburse her, despite several oral and written communications with the school.
Last month a face-off over medical bills pitted Githunguri Girls High School and a parent of a Form Three student. Lydia Nyambura got burnt when she fell in boiling tea in the school kitchen and was rushed to hospital by staff. She was scalded on the right hand, chest, stomach and thighs and admitted to a private hospital in Thika from February 24 to March 22 incurring a bill of over Sh47,000.
Recounting her ordeal to The Standard from her hospital bed, Nyambura said she went to fetch hot water when the accident happened.
Nyambura healed but a confrontation ensued between her mother, Ms Catherine Micere, and the school over who should settle the bill.
Ms Beth Githaiga, the principal, says the parent should pay the bill.
"Each student pays a medical fee of Sh100 per year, which only caters for outpatient services," Githaiga told The Standard.
What the two cases highlight is that there are no clear guidelines for schools on how to deal with students’ medical care and emergencies.
The common practice in many schools, including boarding ones, is that when a student is sick they are prescribed for bed rest and given painkillers and other over the counter drugs by the school nurse with the hope that they would get better. But in some cases students have deteriorated to critical conditions and even died needlessly.

Discuss medical care
It is only when medical tragedies occur like the one that took place at Bungoma’s Chemasis High School in 2004 that fleeting attention is paid to the matter of medical care and emergences. During that event six students died and 93 were admitted at Webuye District Hospital after a swamp fever outbreak.
"Medical fees only cater for minor sicknesses and injuries," says Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association vice-chairman John Awiti.
He says parents should discuss the matter of medical care of their children with schools before an emergency, especially if a child has a pre-existing medical condition.
Awiti, who is also the Principal of St Mary’s Yala, says the school has arrangements with parents with children with chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
"We have instruction from parents to take their children to private hospitals when they suffer attacks and send them medical bills," Awiti says.
That is the approach taken by Ms Pauline Kamau whose daughter, a student at Precious Blood High School, is asthmatic. Kamau agreed with the provincial school that they would take her daughter to Nairobi hospital in case of attacks and inform her. Ministry of Education head of communications John Mwandikwa says the ministry gets complaints from parents who demand that schools settle hospital bills for their children. "We explain to them that our core mandate is tuition…. They should pay hospital bills," he says.