How lecturers' strike puts unending pressure on learners and parents

Concern is growing over the prolonged lecturers’ strike that has paralysed teaching and learning in all public universities.

The strike, now in its fourth week, is threatening the academic progress of more than 500,000 students, among them thousands who joined universities barely a month ago.

In the short term, learners and parents have to contend with the cost of living on campus and how to utilise the idle time. In the long term, they worry about how they will compensate for lost time and the quality of education they will receive should a crash programme be introduced.

With no money to sustain their stay on campus and no clear end in sight, students, some awaiting graduation, now face uncertainty.

Parents are also worried about the toll the strike is taking on their children, including reports that some students are engaging in deviant behaviour. Students have raised concerns about idleness leading to rising cases of indiscipline. Anxiety is also at an all-time high in learning institutions.

Parents are feeling the pinch, as many had already paid tuition, accommodation and upkeep fees in anticipation of a full semester.

Uncertainty over end-of-semester examinations and ambiguity over upcoming graduation ceremonies scheduled for December have left university life in disarray.

Students at Moi University and the University of Eldoret expressed displeasure with the manner in which the Ministry of Education is handling the lecturers’ strike.

Medical students

Some medical students at Moi University, who study for six academic years, are now in their tenth year due to frequent lecturers’ strikes at the institution. The current national strike adds to their frustration since the university has faced numerous work boycotts in recent years.

They say the industrial action will push the semester to next year, further delaying their graduation.

Students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), both final-year and first-year, said their academic journey has quickly turned into frustration and despair.

The students warned that if the strike drags on due to the continued failure of both parties to reach an amicable solution, they will be compelled to demand increased financial support through the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb).

Jomo Kenyatta University Students Association (JKUSA) President Lenox Abira said this would help cover the prolonged stay and additional, unbudgeted expenses that families are now bearing.

Edwin Okiki, a final-year student, said that he has already depleted his Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) funds and has yet to attend a single class since the lecturers downed their tools.

“I am the son of a peasant farmer. My parents pay for my accommodation, and now I’m just staying in my hostel room doing nothing. I still have to pay rent and buy food, but I’m literally doing nothing,” said Okiki.

Immanuel Ochieng, a Bachelor of Public Health student, and his colleague Grace Kanja, who are both in their final year, said the strike has cast a dark shadow over their final lap at the university.

“As a fourth-year student hoping to graduate soon, I feel for the first-years who had just joined only for the strike to halt their first lessons. The government must step in quickly before more damage is done,” said Ochieng.

As students feel the pinch of the strike, a meeting on Thursday between union officials, universities management and the government aimed at resolving the stalemate collapsed as the teams disagreed on the Sh7.9 billion bill.

After several hours of meeting in Machakos, the University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and the Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu) insisted that the government still owes them Sh7.9 billion under the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

By last evening, the meeting that was expected to unlock the stalemate was still discussing modalities on how to conduct the audit.

The government, however, maintains that only Sh624 million is outstanding as the remainder of the money had been paid earlier.

On Wednesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told MPs that, according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), some Sh7.2 billion of the Sh7.9 billion claim was already paid through annual salary increments, leaving a balance of Sh624 million.

Ogamba said that the issue “requires an objective verification process” and urged both parties to conduct a joint payroll audit to determine the actual balance.

The verification process was the subject of the Thursday meeting in Machakos. The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Education, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), university councils and union leaders.

But sources at the closed-door meeting in Machakos told The Standard that union representatives rejected a proposal for a fresh audit.

Unpaid Sh7.9b

The unions argued that a January 2021 court judgment had already determined the total CBA cost at Sh16.5 billion, of which Sh7.9 billion remains unpaid.

“We expect the government and university councils to abide by the court judgment. What is left to pay is Sh7.9 billion. Anything else will only worsen the crisis in universities,” said Charles Mukhwaya, secretary-general of Kusu, after the meeting.

Government officials, however, maintained that a joint audit must first be conducted to confirm the amounts already paid, a move the unions described as an attempt to reopen a settled matter.

The court on October 6 directed the parties to file progress reports by October 15, but unionists said little headway was made as the government stuck to its demand for a verification exercise before releasing any funds.

“The judgment of January 2021 settled this matter. The total cost was Sh16.5 billion, and Sh7.9 billion remains unpaid. The audit they are proposing is unlawful and will only deepen the crisis,” Mukhwaya said.

It emerged that the meeting is set to continue on Friday. The dispute traces back to 2021, when the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the CBA covering 2017–2021 would cost Sh16.5 billion.

The Ministry of Education, the SRC and university councils challenged the figure, arguing the cost should remain at Sh8.8 billion. However, they failed to pursue their appeal after securing interim stay orders.

The Court of Appeal later ruled in March 2025 that the government’s appeal had effectively collapsed after it failed to file a record of appeal within the stipulated timeframe.

Consequently, the Attorney General advised the Ministry of Education to comply with the original judgment and facilitate payment of the outstanding amount.

The Thursday meeting is part of efforts to end a crippling lecturers’ strike now in its fourth week, which has paralysed learning and research activities across 41 public universities.

The Standard has established that in several institutions, semester timelines have been eaten into by half, forcing administrators to contemplate extending the academic calendar into next year.

At Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the students’ association appealed to Helb to provide emergency upkeep funds. They said most students living off-campus are struggling to pay rent and meet basic needs.

The students have issued an ultimatum demanding that the impasse be resolved before the end of the week or they will take to the streets to push both sides toward an agreement.

“We will not remain silent as our right to education is repeatedly violated by prolonged industrial action,” Lenox Okandi, the JKUAT Students Association president, said.

Similar concerns have been raised by University of Nairobi students who are now reporting that the strike has financially strained them after the administration asked them to report back to school.

Final-year students have also raised concern over possibly missing the graduation dates set for October and November.

Kirinyaga University was to hold its graduation ceremony yesterday, while Garissa University had scheduled its on October 16, but both might be missed.

Some students due to graduate say they cannot resolve missing marks because lecturers are absent.

“I am very worried that I might not be able to graduate this year. It is frustrating since I have been following up with my lecturer for the past three weeks on a missing mark from second year, but they are not in school,” a Kirinyaga University student said.

Multimedia University Student Association President Remy Osoti on Saturday expressed fears over the time lost during the strike amid the hard stance taken by both parties.