2007年VOA标准英语-Kenyan University Lecturers Strike for Improved

By Ken¹ Wekesa
Nairobi,Kenya
18 June 2007

A university degree brings prestige in Kenya, where institutions of higher learning are still valued as a means of social advancement².  But the universities’ reputations have been tarnished³ by years of strikes by faculty⁴ and staff. Today, Kenyan lecturers from the country’s six main public universities have been on strike since last October – the third time in 12 years.  Students say the action is hurting them. From Nairobi, Ken Wekesa reports.

The history of Kenya's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, the University of Nairobi, goes back to 1956 when it was established as the Royal Technical College. Since then, both the number of institutions and enrollment⁵ have expanded rapidly, leading straining the resources of both students and the teaching staff.

Today, the university system includes 3,500 teaching staff, including professors, and about 65,000 students.

But state support for the universities has declined in recent years due to the country’s lagging economy.  In the meantime, lecturers complain about hardships. They can’t afford to pay rising prices for rents, food and other goods.

Currently, a teaching assistant earns about 192 dollars a month and a lecturer about 217 dollars. A full professor gets about 423 dollars.

The country’s University Academic Staff Union, or UASU, which represents lecturers, has been demanding a 500% pay increase.

The lecturers are demanding monthly salaries of about $3,400 dollars for a teaching assistant and more than 12,000 dollars for a full professor.

Dr. Owuor Olunga of the University of Nairobi and an official of UASU explained the reasons behind the continuing dissent⁶ – which leaves tens of thousands of students without hope of finishing their degrees quickly.

He said, "Our grievances⁷ have been on the terms of service, principally in terms of the remuneration (with regard to) the qualifications of individuals who have certain degrees to be able to teach within the university.  And there has been a general feeling that the university sector⁸ has been neglected."

"The issues we have been raising are really according to the human resource requirements across the board. The effort that lecturers put into the university are not commensurate with the salaries we are paid, and that is why we demand the right remunerations that we believe will motivate the teaching staff. "

This is the third time lecturers have gone on strike in 12 years. In October 2006, more than 3,500 walked out of the six publicly funded universities, calling for big pay rises and better working conditions.  Three years ago, a work stoppage lasted for two months and one in 1994 lasted nearly a year.

Lecturers said those strikes ended in negotiations⁹ that yielded little to improve their welfare.

At the root of the crisis lies a disparity in public sector salaries. After independence, a university professor earned more than a judge, an MP or even a permanent secretary. But since then things have changed. Lecturers haven’t received a salary hike proportionate to the meteoric¹⁰ rises in the other public-sector positions.

Lecturers' salaries have also diverged¹¹ from those of their immediate¹² superiors. Five years ago, top professors earned about three-quarters of a vice-chancellor's salary. This year, they only earn about one-seventh.

"The raw deal," he said, "has meant that what we are given is not commensurate with our input¹³ and we are not being remunerated accordingly given the human resource capacity and resources we are generating from within the university.  [In teaching] there is a lot preparation where you have to a lot of reading, a lot of everthing else. "

"We are trying to demand reasonable pay packages that are rated according to the kind of work we do in the universities. When we table our demands we expect the government to respond by coming up with long-term solutions that will serve the interests of all the stakeholders."

In the meantime, Kenya’s education minister, George Saitoti, insists that the government is committed to improving working conditions in Kenyan universities but critics see few results. The government insists that the by the University Academic Staff Union for a 500 per cent salary increase defies market logic¹⁴.

In the meantime, some lecturers are getting a taste of the market themselves…in an effort to make ends meet, some are doing consultancy work for business firms, non-governmental organizations and private universities. 

Also, some faculties¹⁵ -- like those of medicine, commerce and law – are still teaching. The lecturers at these faculties -- which tend to attract wealthier students – enjoy higher salaries than their university counterparts, and are reluctant to join the strikes. 

Also, strikes are often more severe at the country’s six other public universities, which have poorer students and require government to fund almost all their needs. On the other hand, the flagship of the public system, the University of Nairobi, receives up to 60 percent of its budget from wealthy students and so enjoys a greater degree of independence.

The strikes frustrate¹⁶ many students, who say they’ve paid tuition fees and are eager to complete their studies in good time.

One student said  “ If the lecturers are not paid well, the younger generation will not want to take up such jobs,”  while another said, “Some of them are not serious about teaching, and so they don’t deserve that much.”   Others said the pay rise would affect the economy negatively,  perhaps increasing inflation.

Unlike earlier years, the university system today enjoys less public funding, while public officials question the mission and mandate¹⁷ of the institutions.

Many analysts¹⁸ believe that all of these problems are increasingly leading to a “brain drain”  as Kenya’s academics leave for better paying work in the West.  It’s estimated that a lecturer in the United States earns triple the salary of his or her counterpart in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such lucrative¹⁹ packages entice²⁰ poorly paid professionals to emigrate.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

3 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

4 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

5 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

6 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

7 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 meteoric   

adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的

参考例句：

• In my mind,losing weight is just something meteoric.在我眼中，减肥不过是昙花一现的事情。
• His early career had been meteoric.他的早期生涯平步青云。

11 diverged   

分开( diverge的过去式和过去分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳

参考例句：

• Who knows when we'll meet again? 不知几时咱们能再见面！
• At what time do you get up? 你几时起床？

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

14 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

15 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

20 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。