A section of Moi University medical students has appealed to the government to intervene in the ongoing lecturers’ strike that has paralyzed learning in public universities across the country.
The students say the industrial action by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has disrupted their final examinations, which were scheduled to begin this week, threatening to delay their graduation plans.
“I’m a sixth-year medical student. I was supposed to start my final examinations today and finish by October 17, so that I could graduate in December,” one student said.
“But things are not moving forward because of the strike which is ongoing.”
She revealed that the current strike is only the latest in a series of work stoppages that have repeatedly derailed their academic calendar.
“At Moi University, we initially had a strike that lasted four weeks before UASU started. There’s also another one coming that will affect us alone. Each year, we experience strikes lasting two to four months. I’ve been in school for nearly a decade I joined when I was 17 and I’m now turning 26,” she lamented.
The student urged the university administration and the Ministry of Education to find a lasting solution to the recurrent strikes, saying the delays have taken a financial and emotional toll on students and their families.
“Our parents are struggling to pay rent and provide food amid tough economic times. We just want to complete our studies and start working,” she added.
The lecturers’ strike, which has affected several public universities, began after UASU demanded the full implementation of the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The standoff has left thousands of
students stranded, uncertain when normal learning will resume.
University students in all 42 public schools remain idle on campus as the lecturers' strike enters week four, 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.
