The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) Friday threatened to go on strike in September following a proposal by Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, John Mbadi, to “right-size” university staff as part of efforts to ensure financial sustainability in public universities.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education on Thursday, CS Mbadi proposed wide-ranging reforms, suggesting that the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with universities, develop a comprehensive reform strategy to address the financial challenges facing the institutions.
Among the proposed reforms are the restructuring of public universities to cut unnecessary administrative costs, outsourcing non-core services, and rationalising satellite campuses by disposing of surplus assets to offset outstanding financial obligations.
UASU Secretary-General, Constantine Wesonga, demanded that the CS withdraw the proposal, accusing the Kenya Kwanza administration of continuously undermining university communities.
He vowed not to allow the administration to issue “reckless statements day in day out”, but the government should instead wholly fund university education adequately.
“The government owes the university community close to Sh21billion. I want to say, universities are not going to open in September before the CS Treasury and CS Ministry of Education releases HELB and scholarships for the last academic year,” declared the SG in Mombasa during a meeting with Organising Secretaries from 40 public universities.
“If you don’t release the HELB and scholarship for the last academic year, get it from me; there will be no learning in public universities in Kenya. I have said,” the SG declared Wesonga also warned that UASU would mobilise Gen-Z against the government, arguing that universities have influence over the youthful demographic.
Additionally, UASU is demanding the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), warning that failure to do so within two weeks will lead to a strike. The SG revealed that the government owes lecturers Sh2.73 billion in salary arrears for 2023.
UASU National Chairperson Grace Nyongesa said most public universities are severely understaffed and urged the government to hire more lecturers.
“The dream of retrenching any member of the academic staff from the universities, we will resist in the strongest terms possible,” she affirmed.
She urged the government to take over the salaries of universities’ academic staff, akin to Primary and Secondary schools, and universities to generate money for operations.
“We have been very patient, and our patience has run out. To begin to imagine that you can lay off members of academic staff. We want to tell the government, don’t go that direction. That is a toll order. We shall resist accordingly,” she stated.
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