Public universities academic calendar in limbo as dons' strike enters third week

University students in all 42 public schools remain idle on campus as the lecturers' strike enters week three on Wednesday, hampering chances of completing this semester on time.

This being the first semester was expected to end by the second week of December, but is now likely to be pushed to early next year should the dons and government strike a deal to return to work.

The situation is worse for first-year students, who had just reported to campus when the strike commenced in the first week of learning.

At the University of Nairobi (UoN), students said they spend most of their time in the hostels and at times in the library to while away time.

Neither the government nor the universities' administration has announced any plan to close the public universities following the strike, which began on September 17, 2025.

Just like last year, the academic calendar is likely to be extended to earlier next year for the first semester. This affects students, especially the graduating class or those proceeding for attachment.   

“There is no learning going on, our calendar year is not certain. We are so frustrated. We don’t know when we will finish the course and graduate,” Mercy Oira, a medical student pursuing a Master's Degree in Dentistry at the UoN said.

Oira said that patients are also feeling the hit as post-graduate students who work alongside dons to attend to the patients can no longer work.

“Since we work under supervision, our patients can no longer get the quality of treatment they need. Some of them are really struggling,” she added.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) issued a seven-day notice barely after the academic year had commenced and proceeded with the strike after accusing the government of failing to honour their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Lecturers want the state to settle a Sh7.9 billion outstanding from the 2017-2021 CBA and also commence new talks for the 2025-2029 CBA.

Although the government released Sh2.73 billion, UASU could hear none of it, demanding a full settlement before initiating new discussions and resuming classes.

On Monday, a section of student leaders drawn from different universities threatened to stage protests across their universities to pressure the government and UASU to end the stalemate.

The student leaders who met Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka in Karen, Nairobi, said it was becoming expensive to continue staying on campus idle, as they exhaust their resources, which include Helb funds.

Last week, the striking lecturers congregated at the UoN graduation squatter from where they marched to Parliament, Treasury and Ministry of Education to present their petitions.

UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga has asked the government to honour a court judgement and an advisory from the Attorney General of April 10, 2025, advising the Ministry of Education to settle the Sh7.9 billion.