Students count cost of strike as lecturers set to resume duty

Students in public universities are set to resume learning after lecturers’ unions reached a Sh20 billion deal with the Government to end a four-week strike that has disrupted academic programmes.

The agreement involving the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and Kenya Universities and Colleges Workers Union (KUDHEIHA) offers relief to thousands of students whose studies have been interrupted by the industrial action.

The breakthrough comes after University of Nairobi students staged two demonstrations demanding the payment of lecturers by the government and the resumption of learning in public universities.

But as the strike nears its end, with official communications to be made on Friday, students are counting the cost of the disruption, with concerns over compressed classes, delayed continuous assessment tests (CATs), mounting living expenses and possible changes to the academic calendar.

Attention now shifts to university administrations and lecturers to determine how the lost time will be recovered without compromising the quality of learning or severely changing activities on the academic calendar.

For Jimmy Wambua, a University of Nairobi student awaiting graduation, the agreement offers hope that stalled clearance processes will resume as university departments reopen.

“I mean, obviously, it's a relief for graduates because clearance processing could have slowed down because departments were closed and all that,” he said.

Wambua said the resumption of departmental operations would allow finalists to complete clearance early and avoid the last-minute rush associated with graduation.

However, for continuing students, the disruption has raised questions about when they will sit their examinations and how much time they will have to cover the remaining syllabus, go for industrial attachments and even teaching practice.

Cleo Gatete, a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Nairobi, said the strike had disrupted his December plans, with the semester likely to extend beyond its scheduled completion date.

The initial timetable indicated that examinations would be completed by December 18, but Gatete said students were yet to receive an official revised schedule as he anticipates the examinations could be pushed to February, depending on how the university adjusts the academic calendar.

“The day it comes out you will discover that things have been squeezed. They have been squeezed completely,” he said, warning that students could struggle to absorb the syllabus if lecturers attempt to recover lost time through compressed lessons.

Gatete, however, remains hopeful that he will graduate in December next year as planned, unless further changes are made to the university timetable.

The strike has also affected his finances, as he was forced to look for menial/different jobs to fund his transport to school since he still had to report to the university's official tv station even when the strike was on.

''You cannot depend on a parent when you're not in school, so I used to look for money through different jobs,''  Gatete said.

At the University of Nairobi, Elias Shukuru  said the disruption had affected both his academic progress and his work-study schedule, raising fears that he could graduate later than planned.

Shikuku, who studies Peace and Conflict Studies alongside Psychology and also works part time through a work study program, said the interruption had stalled research projects, assignments and group work, forcing students to rebuild their academic routines.

“Education is like a process. You cannot just stop today and say tomorrow now you begin again,” he said, warning that rushing through the syllabus to compensate for the lost weeks could undermine students’ understanding and academic performance.

Beyond the classroom, Shikuku said students living outside university accommodation had continued paying rent and meeting other basic expenses despite being unable to attend lectures, faulting the university for not providing proper timely communication on how students should navigate the disruption being that some were left uncertain whether to travel home or not.

"We were stranded and stuck because we were supposed to continue paying rent and other expenses like food even though no studies were ongoing," he said.

Murata said repeated strikes had disrupted his university experience, contrasting his uncertain graduation prospects with those of former classmates in private universities who were preparing to graduate in December, adding that the strike had paralysed students' welfare activities and engagements with external partners.

At Machakos University, Prestone Murunga said the prolonged disruption had taken a financial and emotional toll on him and his family as the uncertainty about when classes would resume being that they had invited their resources in his studies hoping that he would graduate soon and transition into employment.

“The uncertainty surrounding my education has become emotionally exhausting, as I continue to worry about how much longer I will have to wait to complete the degree I have worked so hard to pursue,” he said.

When the strike forced him home, he sought employment to earn money and gain work experience. However, with learning expected to resume, he now faces the prospect of leaving his job and sacrificing his income to return to school.

The competing demands of education and financial survival, he said, have made it increasingly difficult to plan for the future.

''This constant shift between school and work has made it difficult to plan my future and achieve financial stability. Now I have to leave my job and return to school, sacrificing my income because of circumstances beyond my control,'' Murunga says.

With the Sh20 billion agreement offering hope of a return to normal learning, students are now looking to universities for clear guidance on revised timetables, examinations and graduation schedules.

They also want assurances that efforts to recover the lost weeks will not translate into rushed lessons, an overloaded academic calendar and further disruptions to their studies.

For students whose education has repeatedly been interrupted by industrial action, the end of the strike will be only the first step towards regaining the academic stability they need to complete their degrees.