Crisis looms in universities over funding for students and threats by lecturers

Maasai Mara University Lecturers engage in demonstrations to demand for more pay. Photo/File

Crisis looms in universities over funding for students and threats by lecturers to go on strike over the failure of the government to implement a salary deal signed last year.

University students are reporting for their second semester with the government yet to release money for fees and upkeep for learners.

The New University Funding Model that was introduced last year was in December declared unconstitutional by the High Court plunging students into anxiety.

However, the government has assured students that they will continue to receive funding under the new model, allaying fears of a crisis.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba says there should be no cause for alarm as the government will soon release money to students’ accounts.

“There should be no cause for any alarm because the ministry is working with the National Treasury to have money released to learners,’’ Ogamba said.

Ogamba has said that students under the New University Funding Model introduced last year will have their money released because the funds were budgeted for.

The government plans to challenge the High Court ruling that declared the model unconstitutional even as it explores ways to align it with the ruling.

Students rely on state funding for fees and upkeep, meaning should the government further delay the funds, learners will be forced to endure suffering for some time.

Besides the students’ funding, lecturers have also threatened to stage the ‘’mother of all strikes’’ as they demand implementation of a salary review agreed on last year.

University lecturers have vowed to go on strike this week should the government fail to implement a salary deal reached last year.

On January 1, the lecturers gave the government two weeks to pay them enhanced salaries contained in their collective Bargaining Agreement signed last year.

The University Academic Staff Union (UASU) gave the government a 15-day ultimatum to implement the 2021-2025 CBA.

UASU called off the lecturers’ strike on November 23, 2024, after signing a return-to-work agreement with the Ministry of Education.

This decision followed the government’s commitment to fully implement the CBA, which is worth Sh9.7 billion.

The lecturers had gone on strike on September 18 after negotiations between the government and their representatives collapsed.

With the return-to-work formula signed, lecturers in public universities resumed academic activities on November 25.

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