NAIROBI, Kenya – The National Treasury has appealed to university lecturers to accept payment of their long-overdue salaries and allowances in instalments, citing limited fiscal space and competing national priorities.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee on Tuesday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government cannot afford to release the entire Ksh7.9 billion owed to lecturers at once.
“We want to commit ourselves to an arrangement we can realistically sustain. Our economic stability is improving compared to last year when we almost defaulted on our foreign debt,” Mbadi told MPs.
The Treasury initially approved a proposal by the Ministry of Education to settle the arrears in three instalments, but the plan was rejected by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU).
Mbadi said the government later revised the plan to two instalments — one in the 2025/26 financial year and another in 2026/27 — but the unions still declined the offer.
“I urge lecturers to acknowledge the realities of our current economic situation and agree to a payment formula that is economically viable for the government,” the CS added.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told the committee that despite the ministry’s engagements with union officials, lecturers have refused any phased payment plan.
“They insist on being paid the full amount at once, despite our explanation that the money has not been budgeted for — and that remains the current position,” Ogamba said.
He disclosed that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) had determined that only Ksh624 million of the total amount was payable as arrears. Of this, Ksh200 million had already been disbursed, leaving a balance of Ksh7.7 billion.
UASU, however, has vowed to continue with the ongoing strike until the government settles the amount in full and implements the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
“The government has a record of going back on its word. We will not resume work until all arrears are paid in a lump sum and the new CBA is signed and implemented,” UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga said in a recent statement.
The lecturers’ strike has paralysed learning in public universities for weeks, with union officials accusing the government of failing to honour previous agreements dating back nearly a decade.
