Professors in Grade 15A are the greatest beneficiaries of the 2025–2029 UASU salary review in absolute monetary terms, according to a comparison shared with Campus Pulse by a union insider who spoke to Campus Pulse. The screenshot itself is not published; the figures below are the comparison as shared.

The comparison sets current basic salaries (2024/2025) against projected final salaries (2028/2029) at Notch 12, across the grades examined. At Notch 12, Professors in Grade 15A register the highest salary gain in shillings:

Grade 15A (Professors): KSh 345,816 to KSh 440,884 — gain KSh 95,068.

Grade 14A: KSh 297,403 to KSh 379,160 — gain KSh 81,757.

Grade 13A: KSh 238,221 to KSh 303,707 — gain KSh 65,486.

Grade 12A: KSh 187,710 to KSh 239,312 — gain KSh 51,602.

Grade 11A: KSh 166,072 to KSh 211,725 — gain KSh 45,653.

Grade 10A: KSh 97,988 to KSh 124,929 — gain KSh 26,941.

Campus Pulse checked the arithmetic in the comparison: every gain above is the exact difference between the two salary figures given for that grade.

The other half of the picture is the rate. Every grade in the table gains 27.5 per cent on its basic salary between the two figures — the Professors' KSh 95,068 and the Grade 10A KSh 26,941 are the same percentage applied to very different starting salaries. So the review lifts the top of the scale most in shillings, while the lowest grade in the table gains the least in shillings at the same rate. These are basic-salary figures only; they do not include allowances.

The table sits inside the wider deal that ended the strike. After four weeks of disrupted learning, lecturers in public universities are expected back in class on Monday 2 November 2026 following a KSh 20 billion agreement with the government on the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Citizen Digital reported on 31 October 2026. Lecturers downed their tools on 2 October, protesting delays in implementing the CBA, outstanding salary adjustments and other longstanding grievances.

Negotiations between the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) yielded the KSh 20 billion funding package. UASU Secretary General Dr Constantine Wasonga said on Friday: "Today's agreement is a compromise, and reaching it was not easy. In making concessions, UASU carefully balanced the plight of students with the fundamental rights of academic staff to dignified working conditions, collective bargaining and pension security." Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala added: "This agreement paves the way for immediate resumption of teaching, learning and research and other academic programmes across our universities. I wish to emphasise that this resolution is part of an ongoing process."

Under the agreement, the KSh 20 billion will be disbursed in three tranches over three financial years: KSh 6.7 billion in 2026/2027, KSh 6.7 billion in 2027/2028 and KSh 6.6 billion in 2028/2029. Basic salaries will increase by 3.5 per cent annually for four years, backdated to July 2025, alongside an automatic annual increment of five per cent. The deal also provides for increased commuter, leave, passage and baggage allowances, as well as payment of accumulated salary and allowance arrears.

The agreement further protects lecturers from victimisation for participating in the strike, with all disciplinary action initiated during the industrial action deemed withdrawn. Contract staff have also been assured that their participation in the strike will not prejudice contract renewals. Wasonga said: "We have now achieved the objectives of our strike. The strike is over. Prepare to go to class. From Monday, the lecture halls will be flowing with lecturers." The two sides have also agreed to implement programmes to recover the four weeks of lost learning time.

What we could not verify: whether the salary figures in the comparison apply beyond Notch 12, or how other notches within each grade move; the full text of the signed CBA and Return to Work Formula, which had not been published in the sources checked; and the timing of the first adjusted payments to individual lecturers, beyond the tranche schedule above.

SOURCES:

- Salary comparison (current basic salaries 2024/2025 and projected final salaries 2028/2029, Notch 12, Grades 10A–15A), shared with Campus Pulse by a union insider who spoke to Campus Pulse, 31 Oct 2026. The screenshot is not published; the insider is not named. Arithmetic checked by Campus Pulse: each gain is the exact difference between the two figures given.

- Citizen Digital, 31 Oct 2026, Mary Muoki, "Inside Ksh.20 billion deal that ended lecturers strike": https://citizen.digital/article/inside-ksh20-billion-deal-that-ended-lecturers-strike-n393108

- Capital FM, 31 Oct 2026 (UASU calls off strike after signing KSh 20bn deal; Return to Work Formula; resume Mon 2 Nov): https://capitalfm.africa/uasu-calls-off-university-lecturers-strike-after-signing-sh20bn-deal-with-government/