The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has issued a two-week ultimatum to the government, following recent remarks by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi about impending staff layoffs and the closure of satellite campuses amid continued underfunding of public universities.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee on Thursday, July 24, CS Mbadi signalled that the government could also consider outsourcing services in underfunded institutions, stating that it can no longer fully cater to the needs of government-sponsored students.
In response, UASU has demanded the immediate reversal of plans to shut down satellite campuses and halt any planned retrenchments. The union also called for the urgent disbursement of Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) funds, warning that failure to do so could lead to a complete shutdown of public universities.
The dons further threatened to mobilize thousands of students for mass protests if HELB funds are not released within the next month.
“How can you imagine that you can retrench or lay off learned people? Withdraw that statement forthwith. The government must fund university education fully and adequately,” said UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga.
“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. We are the ones who control the Gen Z. We will release them to you. We will release those Gen Zs in the 40 public universities.”
Higher Education Learning Board funds not enough
In the 2025/2026 budget, HELB received billions less than it had requested, with its Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari warning that the board cannot finance students joining university in September.
Also Read: Govt Speaks on Ruto Scrapping Free Education
To stay afloat, the board is lobbying for access to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) database to track and pursue defaulters in real time.
“We want to say that we want our HELB disbursed into our accounts. We cannot allow our students to suffer due to a lack of our primary issues like HELB,” said Kaimosi Friends University Student Leader Lucy Mbugua.
Kevin Ochieng, a student leader at the Catholic University of East Africa added, “If we want to be fair from the rich to the poor, let education be free because there are a lot of people who cannot really afford this.”
Meanwhile, discontent is rife among university staff at the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) after lecturers downed their tools.
The management is accused of sneakily watering down the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) further fueling tensions.
The new developments come at a time Kenya’s public university sector is facing a financial crisis.
Universities facing cash crisis as CS Mbadi hints at mass layoffs, closure of satellite campuses
Earlier in the week, CS Mbadi announced that the government can no longer sustain the cost of funding higher education.
In what he termed as a drastic rescue effort, he revealed that the Ministry of Education is working alongside universities on a sweeping reform plan.
The measures under consideration include reducing staff numbers, shutting down and selling off satellite campuses, and adopting a controversial new funding model that critics warn could exclude thousands of financially disadvantaged students.
Also Read: Why Capitation for Secondary Schools Has Been Reduced- CS Mbadi
Mbadi underscored the gravity of the situation, saying the current level of government financing for university education is no longer viable.
“The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with universities, is expected to develop a comprehensive reform strategy that will ensure financial sustainability within public universities. One—restructure public universities to reduce unnecessary administrative costs and measures of staff right-sizing and outsourcing of non-core services, and rationalising satellite campuses to dispose such assets to offset pending financial obligations among others,” said CS Mbadi.
“For a long time, we have been living a lie in the sense that we give our children to the universities to educate for free without funding. We have to be realistic and ask ourselves, do we continue living that lie or we can do differently.”
According to the Treasury CS, public universities are collectively owed more than Ksh4 billion—a debt he attributes to years of educating students without adequate state funding since 2016.
He made it clear that the government is unlikely to settle the outstanding dues given the current financial constraints. Instead, Mbadi pushed for the adoption of a new funding structure, which shifts the cost burden to parents and guardians.
While the model has drawn criticism and protests, the CS argued it’s the only way to rescue the struggling institutions.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
