The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) at the University of Nairobi has warned that the institution could lose hundreds of lecturers if a revised retirement policy by the Public Service Commission (PSC) is implemented, saying the move would worsen an already serious staffing shortage and threaten teaching, research and postgraduate training.
The union said the university has not recruited new academic staff since 2020 because of financial constraints, leaving departments overstretched as experienced lecturers continue to retire, resign or die.
It warned that enforcing the new retirement age would remove more senior academics from the institution at a time when there are no immediate replacements.
The disputed PSC circular, issued on March 2 and later amended on April 28, lowered the retirement age for professors from 74 years to 70 years. Senior lecturers and other academic staff will now retire at 65 years and below, depending on their cadre.
Addressing a press conference, Uasu-UoN Secretary-General Prof George Osanjo said the university's academic workforce has already declined sharply over the last six years and warned that the latest policy could trigger another major reduction.
"In 2020, the University of Nairobi had about 2,000 lecturers and today, that number has reduced by nearly 40 per cent to about 1,200. If this policy is implemented, we are looking at another 40 per cent reduction, translating to about 480 lecturers, leaving the university with only around 800 lecturers," he said.
Prof Osanjo said the university risks losing highly experienced professors whose knowledge and expertise have been built over many years, making them difficult to replace within a short period.
"If we allow this university to collapse, then Kenya will not meet its aspiration of becoming a first-world nation," he said.
According to the union, the lack of recruitment over the past six years has already strained teaching and learning, and further staff losses would weaken the university's ability to deliver on its core responsibilities, including research, innovation and community service.
Uasu-UoN Chairperson Prof Ben Nyanchoga said the retirement policy does not take into account the unique nature of academic careers, where promotions depend on research output, supervision, teaching experience and the ability to attract research funding rather than fixed timelines.
"If you retire these professors, it means a number of students undertaking master's, degree and PhD programmes under their supervision will be left on their own. The PSC needs to understand how university systems work," he said.
He added: “Here it is about research output, supervision, teaching and attracting research funds. Moving from one academic grade to the next can even take 20 years.”
The union warned that some specialised departments depend on only a handful of senior academics with unique expertise and could struggle to continue offering programmes if those lecturers retire at the same time.
Uasu also raised concerns about the University of Nairobi Pension Scheme, saying it is already owed about Sh11 billion in outstanding pension contributions. The union argued that forcing large numbers of lecturers to retire simultaneously could further weaken the scheme by reducing contributions needed to keep it financially stable.
“Compelling large numbers of lecturers to retire simultaneously could deprive the scheme of contributions needed to remain financially sustainable, increasing the risk of its collapse,” Prof Osanjo said.
The lecturers further faulted the PSC for introducing the revised retirement policy without consulting universities, university councils or academic staff unions. They noted that retirement terms for professors had previously been negotiated between Uasu and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum before the PSC issued the circular.
The union also pointed to conflicting decisions by the Employment and Labour Relations Court on the retirement age, saying the differing rulings have created uncertainty over the implementation of the policy.