Students stuck as dons, State clash over Sh7.9b dues

Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba during the launch of 2025 National Examinations and Assessments Seson. [Wilbrforce Okwiri, Standard] 

The fate of thousands of university students remains uncertain for the fourth week as unions and the government continue to trade barbs on a Sh7.9 billion payment deal.

The Ministry of Education has announced that verification of the lecturer’s dues began on Monday.

However, with no classes for three weeks and growing uncertainty over examinations and graduations, the universities are in disarray.

The standoff, triggered by a protracted pay dispute over a seven-year-old salary agreement, has paralysed teaching, research and administration across all 41 public universities.

At the center of the stalemate are two pay components, the automatic annual increment and the negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the 2017-2020 period.

While the CBA cost was estimated at Sh8.8 billion, the automatic salary increment pushed the total bill to Sh16.5 billion.

Divided

However, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) remain divided over the actual amount owed to the striking staff for the 2017 to 2020 salary review period.

Appearing before Parliament, Ogamba said Sh7.2 billion of the arrears had already been paid as “normal annual salary increments” for the 2017–2020 period.

But the unions contend that only Sh8.6 billion has been paid so far, leaving a balance of Sh7.9 billion out of the total Sh16.5 billion due.

Adding to the confusion are figures released by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), which places the outstanding amount at just Sh624 million. SRC data, seen by The Standard, indicates that Sh7.16 billion has already been paid to staff during the same period.

Union leaders have, however, dismissed these figures, terming them inaccurate and misleading.

“The 2017–2021 CBA was signed in October 2019. How could ‘normal annual increments’ for 2017, 2018, and 2019 be calculated before the legal framework for those payments even existed?” asked UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga.

Conflict

It has emerged that the confusion stems from conflicting calculations over payments tied to the 2017–2021 CBA, signed on October 28, 2019, between public universities and unions representing academic staff.

As both the unions and the Ministry of Education hold firm on their figures, the standoff continues to jeopardize the future of thousands of students. Already, some universities have recalled students to class and warned striking staff to resume work or face dismissal.

A memo seen by The Standard from Kenyatta University ordered students to return to lecture halls and online platforms starting Monday, October 6, to salvage the first semester of the 2025/2026 academic calendar.

“Teaching and learning for students in all modes resumes to ensure that the academic activities for the current First Semester, 2025/2026 Academic Year are completed by the set time,” the memo stated.

Despite the directive, both university management and lecturers’ unions say the strike will continue this week, with no talks currently underway.

On Saturday, UASU announced plans to hold a protest on Wednesday over the stalled negotiations.

“We have not received any invitation from the government to negotiate, so we will be protesting (on Wednesday) from the University of Nairobi to the Treasury, Parliament, and the Ministry of Education,” said UASU Organising Secretary Onesmus Maluki.

The lecturers union now warns that entering the fourth week will see major disruption the academic calendar, threatening the completion of the semester and graduation ceremonies.