The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has warned that lecturers will return to a nationwide strike if the promised Sh20 billion for the 2025‑2029 collective bargaining agreement is not disbursed.

UASU secretary‑general Constantine Wasonga told a joint parliamentary hearing that the October 30 return‑to‑work deal left two critical issues unresolved: the prospect of using student fees to pay staff salaries and a backlog of unpaid obligations amounting to Sh100 billion.

The agreement stipulates that the Sh20 billion will be released in three equal tranches of about Sh6.7 billion each, covering the fiscal years 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29.

UASU, together with the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), are urging Parliament to obtain binding funding guarantees from both the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury.

The unions also seek an amendment to the 2026 Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill that would separate student‑funded financing from the operational budgets of public universities and settle all outstanding government liabilities.

Wasonga highlighted that proposals to finance lecturers’ salaries through student fees clash with the Universities Act of 2012, which mandates parliamentary allocations for university funding.

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) confirmed that the State Department for Higher Education indicated the funding would be drawn from the National Treasury via a student‑centred university financing model.

SRC chief executive Ali Abdullahi Surraw said the commission will issue a letter of no objection once the Sh20 billion is made available, after which the agreement will be registered in court.

Principal Secretary for Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime described the deal as a binding inter‑ministerial commitment, noting that the funding was secured after direct talks with the Treasury and that non‑financial issues are slated for discussion by late February.

Prof Fred Simiyu Barasa, chair of the Inter‑Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum, warned that university councils cannot assume additional recurrent costs without a guaranteed government allocation.

Parliamentary committee chairs cautioned that the absence of a formal Treasury endorsement could breach the agreement and trigger another strike.

Education Committee chair Julius Melly pledged to monitor implementation and ensure the Sh6.7 billion for the current fiscal year is included in the Supplementary Estimate No. 1 for 2026/27.