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Uasu goes to court to stop planned merger of public universities


University lecturers on Friday moved to court to stop the planned merger of 31 public universities by the government.

Universities academic staff union (Uasu) through Koceyo & Company filed the case at the Labour Court ahead of the submission of a report by Commission for University Education (CUE) to Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha on Wednesday.

Uasu has sued Prof Magoha and Attorney General Kariuki Kihara in a case which will be coming up for hearing on August 1.

“University academic staff are therefore extremely concerned that the proposed merger of public universities in Kenya is neither aligned with any national educational policy goal nor principal and is being undertaken by the Respondent unilaterally without due regard to other stakeholders,” the union said in the petition.

TASKFORCE

The union also said some public universities have already embarked on a programme of eliminating some disciplines, departments and schools in anticipation of the proposed mergers which under the Employment Act would amount to restructuring yet the Law relating to restructuring under Section 40 of the Employment has not been complied with.

Last week the union sort the intervention of Parliament to stop the merger saying it is being done without proper consultation.

Uasu Secretary General Constantine Wasonga asked Parliament to urgently intervene and recommend the establishment of an educational commission or taskforce on university education.