Uasu: Retirement rule to usher UoN into staffing crisis
Education
By
Brian Lagat
| Aug 04, 2026
Universities Academic Staff Union, University of Nairobi chapter secretary George Osanjo addresses the media in Nairobi on August 3, 2026. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]
The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) has warned that the University of Nairobi stands to lose up to 70 per cent of its academic workforce within five years if the government proceeds to implement the policy lowering the retirement age for lecturers and professors.
The union is demanding the immediate withdrawal of a Public Service Commission (PSC) circular, saying it could trigger mass retirements and cripple teaching, research and innovation at the country’s oldest public university.
Addressing the media on Monday, Uasu, University of Nairobi chapter, condemned the circular dated March 2, 2026, and its subsequent addendum of April 28, which lowers the retirement age of professors from 74 to 70 years, and that of senior lecturers and other academic staff from 70 to 65.
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The scale of the crisis, Uasu says, is not hypothetical but already underway. It says the University of Nairobi has not recruited academic staff since 2020 after introducing a hiring freeze due to financial difficulties.
As a result, the institution has already lost about 40 per cent of its academic staff. “Today, the university has barely 60 per cent of the academic staff it had six years ago,” said the statement read by Uasu’s UoN chapter secretary Prof George Osanjo.
Should the revised retirement policy take effect, Uasu projects that another 40 per cent of the remaining lecturers would be forced to retire, leaving the university with only about 30 to 40 per cent of the academic workforce it had in 2020, representing a cumulative loss of between 60 and 70 per cent. “University of Nairobi can’t realistically survive such a drastic reduction in its teaching staff within a period of only five years.”
“The university’s teaching, research and innovation mandates face collapse,” the union said, warning that some specialised programmes could disappear because experienced academics cannot easily be replaced.
Uasu also warned that mass retirements could destabilise the university pension scheme, which is owed about Sh11 billion in outstanding contributions.
The union says the circular was issued without prior consultation and without a policy paper explaining the basis for such a fundamental change to university human resource policy.
The union said the PSC acted without consulting universities or Uasu, overturning a retirement age previously agreed through negotiations with university councils. It added that PSC has no representation from public universities, framing this as evidence that university autonomy is “clearly under siege.”
The legal uncertainty has deepened following two conflicting court decisions issued 24 hours apart. On July 29, the Nairobi Employment and Labour Relations Court upheld the PSC circular over the retirement age provisions contained in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, effectively setting the mandatory retirement age for professors at 70.
However, the following day, the Eldoret Employment and Labour Relations Court upheld the CBA retirement age provisions over the PSC circular in a separate case.
Uasu says the contradictory rulings have left universities and lecturers in limbo. Uasu has, therefore, called for the immediate withdrawal of the circular and fresh consultations on retirement policy.
The union also urged Parliament to intervene, called on UoN leadership to defend the institution and its staff, and appealed to the government to rescue both the university and its pension scheme.
They insisted that the PSC circular should be withdrawn and a new retirement policy developed through consultation with universities and academic staff.
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