Intern doctors to earn more than University Professors

Intern doctors will now earn more than some university professors. This is after signing a Collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will have the least paid doctor earn Sh. 212,989 per month. The highest paid medic will pocket Sh. 814,000 per month. University dons are also getting a pay hike that will see the lowest paid, a tutorial fellow, earn Sh. 85, 159 up from Sh. 69, 794. 

What is baffling however is that the least paid medic will earn more than some professors, whose lowest pay will be Shs. 171, 207. The pay of an intern doctor only matches that of the highest paid prof who will be earning Sh. 250,592. 

Kenya has had a long history of industrial disputes, largely blamed on unfair pay structures. SRC has in the past promised to bring harmony in the public sector by harmonising the pay across sectors. This revelation however may jostle the dons and it remains to be seen whether harmony is achieved in the public sector.

The dons may not take the new doctors perks kindly taking into consideration that training a doctor takes 6 years while rising the academic ladder to a professor could take up to a minimum of about 15 years. This is because you first must earn a PhD, which takes at least 3 years, after going through a masters course which usually take 2-3 years. You must then rise through the ranks of a lecturer, senior lecturer then to Associate Professor, the entry level of professorship.