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Universities may extend semester as lecturers’ strike bites
University Academic Staff Union and Kenya University Staff Union members during a peaceful protest in Nairobi on October 8, 2025. They want the government to release CBA arrears.
The nationwide university lecturers’ strike has entered its fourth week with no sign of a resolution, as learning activities in public universities remains paralysed. The government has maintained that it will not yield to the lecturers’ demands, saying the verification to assess compliance with existing agreements began on Monday.
According to the chairperson of the Vice Chancellors’ Committee, Prof Daniel Mugendi, universities where academic programmes have ground to a halt will be forced to extend their semester dates, while those still teaching will proceed without adjustments.
“Universities that are not teaching will definitely extend their semester dates. Those that are teaching, like the University of Embu, do not need to extend semester dates,” said Prof Mugendi, who is also the vice chancellor of the University of Embu.
On Wednesday, lecturers and other staff held a demonstration in Nairobi. The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) vowed to continue the industrial action until the government honours the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
University Academic Staff Union and Kenya University Staff Union members during a peaceful protest in Nairobi on October 8, 2025.
Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said the union would not be intimidated into ending the strike without a firm commitment from the government and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
“It is unfortunate that we are going to have a long strike. We love our students, but we are being forced to be out here. Workers are supposed to negotiate with their employer. SRC cannot dictate what becomes final,” he said.
Dr Wasonga accused the SRC of overstepping its mandate by imposing salary ceilings without consultation. He said the commission’s offer of Sh3 billion to all public university staff unions was far below what is required to cover even basic annual increments.
“That Sh3 billion is supposed to cater for all unions — one billion for Uasu, another for the Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu), and another for KUDHEIHA (the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers). It is not even enough to cater for automatic annual increments for a year and you want to call us to go sit. What are we going to say? Each and every worker is entitled to automatic annual increment,” he said.
Dr Wasonga described the higher education sector as one that has been “neglected for years”, citing the collapse of pension and medical schemes in several institutions.
“This is a sector where staff have no functioning pension scheme and no medical cover. We are redeeming this sector once and for all so that when we resume, our students can have uninterrupted learning next year,” he said.
University Academic Staff Union and Kenya University Staff Union members during a peaceful protest in Nairobi on October 8, 2025.
The Uasu boss told the Nation that the ongoing stalemate will have far-reaching effects on service delivery and research in public universities, saying lecturers are increasingly demoralised as the government drags its feet on resolving the crisis.
“The government is not keen on resolving the problem; they want to hide behind the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to avoid honouring their obligations. The university-based unions, together with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), conducted an audit after the court judgment in November 2021, and we have the accurate figures with us — not the inaccurate ones presented by the SRC,” Dr Wasonga said.
This comes after the conciliator appointed by the ministry recommended that the Joint Implementation Committee and the SRC carry out the audit within two weeks to establish the actual arrears before the Treasury releases funds for payment.
“Once the figure is determined, the same should be forwarded to SRC, Ministry of Education and the Treasury, for them to make arrangements of disbursement of the requisite balance to the universities for payment and closure of this matter.”
Uasu National Chairperson Grace Nyongesa dismissed the proposal as an unnecessary delay, arguing that the figures owed to university staff are already known. She said that the unions will not call off their strike until the arrears are fully settled, accusing government agencies of speaking “from confusion” and failing to act in good faith.
“Asking for two weeks is just a delay tactic, which IPUCCF is used to. They have the data. This money was already determined by the court. The Ministry of Education even appealed, but their appeal was struck out because it had no merit. They rode on a stay of execution for four years to frustrate the unions,” Ms Nyongesa told the Nation.
“SRC knows what it is hiding. They may have misadvised the Ministry of Education and now don’t know how to get out of it. Let them come to the table. We will remain on strike until we get what is rightfully ours.”
University Academic Staff Union and Kenya University Staff Union members during a peaceful protest in Nairobi on October 8, 2025.
It has emerged that the confusion stems from conflicting calculations over payments tied to the 2017-2021 CBA, signed on October 28, 2019, between public universities and unions representing academic staff.
As both the unions and the Ministry of Education hold firm on their figures, the standoff continues to jeopardize the future of thousands of students. Already, some universities have recalled students to class and warned striking staff to resume work or face dismissal.
Ms Nyongesa said the SRC is aware that a total of Sh7.9 billion remains unpaid, with Sh1.5 billion representing a pending component of the CBA. She insisted that only two days are needed to verify the figures and disburse the funds to the rightful beneficiaries.
“Two days are enough for that work. The unions have the data of all our members. We have assisted the government before to ensure no funds are lost. There is no dispute about the amount owed,” she stated.
Student leaders from a number of universities have threatened to call for mass protests if teaching does not resume soon. For many undergraduates and postgraduates, the strike means disrupted coursework, stalled research projects, and delayed graduations.
The students lament that the strike has left them idle and unattended in classrooms, expressing concern that prolonged industrial action will affect their academic calendars.
"We demand a concrete publicly stated plan for the recovery of lost time, including a revised academic calendar to prevent this disruption from becoming a lost semester or delayed graduation for thousands of students,” said Victor Omondi, a student at Kenyatta University.
The University of Nairobi (UoN) directed academic staff to resume work on October 6, 2025 while a memo from Kenyatta University directed students to return to class to salvage the first semester of 2025/2026.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, while appearing before the plenary of the National Assembly, noted that the government is taking steps to resolve the lecturers’ strike to ensure that learning resumes in public universities.
University Academic Staff Union and Kenya University Staff Union members during a peaceful protest in Nairobi on October 8, 2025.
Mr Ogamba said that most of the issues raised by the unions have already been addressed, with the 2021–2025 CBA substantially implemented.
“The total financial requirement for these CBAs amounts to Sh9.76 billion, disbursed in three tranches. Of this, Sh4.3 billion was fully disbursed for the period between October 2024 and June 2025, while another Sh2.73 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year was released between July and September 2025. The remaining Sh2.73 billion will be paid in the next financial year as scheduled," he said.
The CS acknowledged that while the unions claim Sh7.9 billion remains unpaid, the SRC has disputed the figure, maintaining that Sh7.2 billion of the amount was already settled through normal annual salary increments, leaving a balance of Sh624 million.
“This difference in interpretation will be resolved amicably through an objective verification process,” he said.
Mr Ogamba added that the Employment and Labour Relations Court interdicted the strike on September 18, 2025, directing the parties to submit to conciliation, and therefore termed the strike “unprotected”.
“The conciliator recommended that the unions, SRC, and universities undertake a joint audit of payrolls to establish what has been paid and what remains due and that a meeting between the parties had been scheduled for October 9 to deliberate on the pending issues under the 2017–2021 CBA,” he said.
“The government remains committed to ensuring industrial harmony in universities and that learning will resume once the verification process is concluded and an agreement reached," he added.
