A section of students in several public universities have given the government a 24-hour ultimatum to end the lecturers’ strike, now in its third week. University students warned they may join the ongoing lecturers’ strike. Image of Multimedia University students used for illustration only.The learners warned that they will take to the streets if learning does not resume, expressing frustration over the stalemate, saying that the boycott by their lecturers has left them stranded without lessons for weeks. They fear that the impasse, if not addressed immediately, will throw their academic programmes off balance and possibly cost them an entire semester.
Many students said they spend long hours confined in their hostels or libraries with no structured academic activity. For them, the disruption has become more than an inconvenience, as it threatens to derail their future plans, including graduation timelines. Why are university students threatening to join lecturers’ strike? Several student leaders from Kenyatta University voiced their anger during a press briefing on Tuesday, September 30. “Any disruption of our academic calendar must be compensated. This strike is delaying our dreams, and we cannot just sit and watch,” said Desmond Mbare. A section of Moi University, Masinde Muliro University lecturers during the ongoing strike.
Victor Omondi, another student, called on the government to come up with a recovery plan. “We demand a clear strategy to recover lost time. That includes a revised calendar so that we do not lose an entire semester or end up with delayed graduations for thousands of students,” he said. For Valentine Nyanchama, the situation has reached a breaking point. With exams only weeks away and lecturers still absent, she said students were prepared to protest if the government failed to act within 24 hours. How is the lecturers’ strike affecting students? Grace Njeri, a fourth-year student at Moi University, told TUKO.co.ke that the lecturers’ strike has dragged on for too long, eating into precious academic time and leaving students feeling helpless. “Students are paying the price while nothing is resolved. It is frustrating, unfair, and exhausting. Enough is enough, we want to focus on our studies and move forward with our lives,” she said.
On Monday, September 29, a university student leader addressed a forum of student representatives held at the Wiper Patriotic Front headquarters in Nairobi. She declared that students were ready to stand in solidarity with lecturers in their fight for fair treatment. “We shall suspend everything and join them. They are demanding their hard-earned money because they are also human beings. We want them to be paid, and if the government does not act, we will be left with no other option,” she said. Why are lecturers on strike? The lecturers, on their part, are demanding that the government clear pending payments amounting to KSh 7.9 billion from the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). They university dons also want fresh negotiations to begin for a new agreement covering 2025–2029. This standoff is not new. Last year, a similar lecturers’ strike paralysed learning in public universities, stretching the semester into the early months of this year. Students now fear a repeat of the same scenario if the current crisis drags on.
By Harry Ivan Mboto
