Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has dismissed reports of a planned countrywide universities' strike starting Monday, September 12.
Magoha maintained that the Ministry of Education had not received a notice regarding any planned industrial action.
He added that he was, nonetheless, committed to addressing challenges faced by institutions of higher learning.
Staging a strike without informing the relevant authorities, he argued, amounted to breaching labour laws as enshrined in the Constitution.
"I do not remember getting a strike notice from any university. If a strike is not protected, then you know what happens," he explained.
He further explained that the incoming William Ruto administration will address capitation and infrastructural development concerns.
His sentiments come after Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) lamented that most public institutions of higher learning are struggling to pay their lecturers and non-teaching staff.
UASU national organising secretary, Onesmus Mutio, attributed it to the delays in the late remittance of funds by the National Treasury.
"It is not our mandate to ensure that the government releases money on time. Vice-chancellors should be able to engage the National Treasury," Mutio told Nation Africa on Saturday, September 10.
The union thus demanded full implementation of the 2017-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
On the other side, lecturers reached out to President-elect William Ruto, asking him to prioritise addressing challenges faced by universities. They also asked the incoming head of state to equip technical and vocational education and training (TVETS) institutes and make them accessible.
"We are optimistic that Ruto, being an academic giant himself, will urgently and effectively put in mechanisms to rescue public universities languishing in choking debt," they stated.
Their concerns come even as universities continue to grapple with debts. In 2021, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu exposed Moi, Kenyatta universities and the University of Nairobi over ballooning debts.
Gathungu advised the institutions to slash their workforce and reduce expenditures.
