- Hillary Muhalya examines current public university salary scales as lecturers push for improved remuneration under a new CBA.
- Professors currently earn up to KSh345,816 in monthly basic salary before allowances and statutory deductions.
- Proposals under the 2025–2029 CBA could significantly change salaries and allowances across academic staff grades.
Public university lecturers in Kenya can earn hundreds of thousands of shillings a month as they rise through the academic ranks, with a professor at the top of the current basic salary scale earning up to KSh345,816 before allowances and statutory deductions.
The salary structure places academic staff in a series of grades, beginning with Graduate and Research Assistants and rising through Tutorial Fellows, Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Associate Professors and Professors.
At the entry academic level, a Graduate or Research Assistant in Grade 10A earns a basic monthly salary of between KSh63,647 and KSh97,988.
A Tutorial Fellow, Assistant Lecturer or Junior Research Fellow in Grade 11A earns between KSh107,872 and KSh166,072, while a Lecturer or Research Fellow in Grade 12A earns between KSh121,928 and KSh187,710.
The figures rise considerably as academics progress through the ranks.
A Senior Lecturer or Senior Research Fellow in Grade 13A earns a basic salary ranging from KSh154,739 to KSh238,221. An Associate Professor in Grade 14A earns between KSh193,182 and KSh297,403.
At the highest academic level, a Professor in Grade 15A earns between KSh224,631 and KSh345,816 in basic salary.
University academic staff also receive house allowances tied to their respective grades.
A Graduate or Research Assistant receives KSh35,383 a month, while a Tutorial Fellow or Assistant Lecturer receives KSh51,601.
For a Lecturer, the house allowance is KSh55,286, rising to KSh58,972 for a Senior Lecturer.
An Associate Professor receives KSh66,344, while the house allowance for a Professor is KSh73,715.
This means that a Professor earning the maximum basic salary of KSh345,816 would have a combined basic salary and house allowance of approximately KSh419,531 per month, before other benefits and statutory deductions.
An Associate Professor at the top of the basic scale would have approximately KSh363,747 when basic salary and house allowance are combined.
For a Senior Lecturer at the maximum basic salary point, the combined figure would be about KSh297,193, while a Lecturer at the top of the scale would have approximately KSh242,996 before other applicable benefits and deductions.
The salary structure extends beyond lecturers
Kenya’s public universities employ thousands of workers outside the lecture halls.
The workforce includes administrators, accountants, librarians, laboratory personnel, ICT specialists, technicians, human-resource officers, procurement officers, estates workers, drivers, cleaners and other support employees.
Their remuneration is generally determined through institutional job grades and collective bargaining agreements rather than a single salary figure applicable to every university employee across the country.
The Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) represents many non-academic employees, while KUDHEIHA represents another major category of university workers. Academic staff are represented principally by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU).
Their collective bargaining arrangements determine important aspects of salaries, allowances and employment conditions.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has a constitutional role in advising on remuneration and benefits in the public sector and is involved in the consideration of collective bargaining proposals.
SRC has also been pushing for greater consistency in public-sector allowances, including reviewing institution-specific benefits and aligning allowances with its policy guidelines.
This means that an allowance demanded by a union cannot automatically be treated as an approved entitlement.
That distinction has become particularly important in the negotiations for the 2025–2029 university CBA.
New demands could change the figures
University lecturers have been seeking improved remuneration under the new CBA, with proposals covering basic salaries, house allowances, commuter or car allowances and other benefits.
Among the demands advanced by UASU are substantially higher house allowances and a monthly car or commuter allowance for full-time academic staff.
However, these figures remain negotiating positions rather than an approved national salary structure.
The new CBA has therefore become a major point of interest for thousands of lecturers and other university employees who are waiting to see the final package agreed between the government, the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum and the unions.
The outcome will have implications beyond individual payslips because university salaries account for a substantial share of institutional expenditure.
For university administrators, professional employees, technical personnel and support workers, remuneration similarly depends on their job grades and applicable institutional agreements.
A senior professional or administrator may therefore have a significantly different salary package from an employee in a lower support grade, even within the same university.
Benefits can also include house allowance, commuter-related benefits, medical cover, leave allowance, pension contributions and official-duty allowances, depending on the employee’s grade and applicable terms of service.
Daily subsistence allowance and other duty-related payments are also governed by applicable public-sector and institutional rules.
The continuing negotiations have consequently placed university remuneration at the centre of a wider debate over the future financing of public universities.
Lecturers want competitive pay and better working conditions, while universities and the government must contend with limited resources, growing enrolment, infrastructure demands and pressure on the public wage bill.
For now, the established academic salary structure places the maximum basic monthly salary for a professor at KSh345,816, before house allowance and other benefits.
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The next major question is what the final 2025–2029 CBA will deliver for lecturers, professors, administrators, technical workers and thousands of other employees whose salaries depend on Kenya’s public university remuneration framework.
By Hillary Muhalya
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