Kenyan universities could grind to a halt on October 2 after lecturers announced plans to strike over billions of shillings in unpaid salary arrears and what they describe as chronic underfunding of public universities.
The Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) had given the government a seven-day notice to address its grievances, warning that lecturers will withdraw their services if the outstanding issues remain unresolved.
Speaking in Nairobi, UASU Secretary-General Dr Constantine Wasonga accused university councils, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury of failing to honour a return-to-work agreement signed in November 2025.
Wasonga said lecturers were already working under difficult conditions, citing staff shortages, heavy workloads and the absence of pension schemes. “On October 2nd, all universities shall be closed,” he said.
The union is demanding full payment of arrears owed under the 2017–2021 and 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreements, rejecting any proposal to settle the outstanding amounts in instalments.
UASU also wants stalled staff promotions and delayed gratuity payments addressed, while opposing changes to lecturers’ salaries through government human resource instruments without consultation.
The union has raised concerns over the financial position of public universities, blaming delayed exchequer releases for difficulties in meeting operational obligations.
It also wants lecturers to stop taking up part-time teaching assignments, arguing that universities should instead recruit more full-time academic staff.
Wasonga claimed about 9,000 lecturers are currently serving more than one million university students, placing additional pressure on an already stretched workforce.
UASU has further called on the government to prioritize clearing more than KSh100 billion in pending bills owed to universities, arguing that settling the debt would help stabilize the sector.
With the October 2 deadline approaching, the dispute now puts the start of the new academic period at risk if the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
