The Universities Academics Staff Union (Uasu) has urged President William Ruto’s administration to prioritise the financial crisis at Egerton University.
Uasu national secretary–general Constantine Wasonga said what is happening at the university’s Njoro campus is a national crisis.
"I want to tell the Kenya Kwanza government that if there is anything that they should deal with as a matter of urgency, it is the Egerton University financial crisis," Dr Wasonga said.
He said all Uasu chapter secretaries will on Wednesday mobilise their members and converge at Jogoo House in Nairobi to petition the government to intervene in the Egerton University crisis.
"This crisis at Egerton University has persisted for more than three years. I want the whole country to know that there is a crisis here," he said.
He added: "From [Monday], all lecturers must not attend classes. If you are a serious lecturer, you will go to class once the union has permitted you. Learning has been stopped until the union calls off the strike."
He said it was a shame that only at Egerton University were dons paid 57 per cent of their salaries.
"This is an injustice to our members and the union will not accept to continue anymore," declared Dr Wasonga.
He called on students to pack their bags and go home, saying "there will be no learning here [Egerton] until this pay row is resolved conclusively".
Dr Wasonga hit out at the university council for ‘sleeping on the job’ and urged it to step aside, claiming it had failed in its mandate.
"This council should be dissolved immediately. What has the council been doing since 2020 when the crisis started?.” He said.
“The union has given the council ample time to resolve the pay row but it seems it has been defeated. Why should this council be in office? It is now time for the council to honourably resign and pave the way for a new council.
"The government should dissolve this council because it is not adding any value to this institution."
More than 600 members of the Uasu Egerton chapter downed their tools after the launch of the strike by the national office.
Learning at the financially troubled school is expected to be paralysed after the lecturers vowed not to go back to class.
In a rare show of solidarity, the launch of the strike was attended by a dozen Uasu chapter officials from public universities across the country and the entire national executive council.
The strike started after university administrators failed to meet the lecturers’ demands, which included reinstatement of their full salaries, promotions and remittances of statutory deductions running into billions of shillings.
Lecturers at the Njoro campus have been receiving 57 per cent of their salaries since the Covid-19 pandemic hit and most of them have pay arrears running into millions of shillings.
Uasu national chairperson Grace Nyongesa said the solidarity from other union chapters was meant to register the union's anger and disappointment with what is happening at Egerton.
"Egerton University cannot be in the media every time agitating and [administrators] have chosen to close their ears. We have launched the mother of all strikes and this will send a message home," Ms Nyongesa said.
She added: "Egerton University problems must be resolved once and for all today and not tomorrow. Is this country listening? Do we have civil servants earning 57 per cent of their salaries? Students in the university want to be taught and they can only be taught by lecturers who earn their rightful salaries."
