The health institutions were also asked to set up emergency facilities near the schools.
However, despite the cover, things have not changed in schools.
Some are still depending on their health facilities to manage student sicknesses without referring them to the accredited NHIF hospitals.
Most of the bigger public schools have two nurses while some smaller ones have none.
DEATHS
The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said principals should not be blamed for the deaths.
“No principal would watch as a sick student dies in school without taking them to Hospital,” said Mr Indimuli.
He added that the NHIF medical scheme played a major role in healthcare as the hospitals selected treat students using their unique personal identification numbers.
Mr Indimuli said when a case happens in schools, each should be handled individually.
“Lapses in schools should not be generalised,” he said. Several students have also taken their lives under mysterious circumstances.
SUICIDE
On April 2, a Form Four student at Chinga Boys High School in Nyeri committed suicide in unclear circumstances, according to the principal, Mr Kiringo M’eringo.
Last month, a Class Two boy at Ikonyero Primary School in Kakamega County reportedly took his own life in unclear circumstances.
The body of the eight-year-old pupil was found dangling from the roof of their outdoor bathroom.
In February, a Form Three student who had been admitted to Nairobi Women’s Hospital committed suicide inside a toilet.
The 17-year-old student had been admitted to the facility on Friday, after complaining of stomach pains and vomiting.
FORM THREE
Also in February, a Form Three student at Yangua Secondary School in Mbooni, Makueni, allegedly committed suicide after being sent home to buy a ream of barbed wire as punishment for indiscipline.
The 19-year-old boy’s lifeless body was found dangling in his house. Last year in November, a student at the prestigious Brookhouse School committed suicide.
Betty Nyakihiu Gichucha, 18, was found hanging in her bedroom in their house in Runda by her relatives.
In April last year, Haroun Kipngeno Kemboi, a student at Alliance School, died of tuberculosis at the institution.
In 2017, Fiona Wanjiru, a primary school pupil in Nairobi, died after sustaining injuries after a fire broke out in a school dormitory.
In 2015, Maseno School in Kisumu had to stop holiday tuition after the death of a Form Four student.
