By Mirimba Angella
Students in public universities are wasting precious time once again as lecturers stay away due to a pay hike dispute among other demands.
In some universities, students were scheduled to take their last semester exams which were delayed due to a similar strike by their lecturers late last year.
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The dons announced their intention to boycott work after the government failed to implement a deal it inked jointly with the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) officials.
Lecturers are demanding better pay, manageable workloads, and improved pensions.
Previous talks with university management have failed to produce an agreement, leading to this latest round of industrial action.
The timing of the strike is particularly problematic.
The damage caused by the repeated strikes can be felt in universities where timetables have to be adjusted to recover time lost.
It has emerged that many students who were anticipating high travel costs and heavy holiday traffic on the road, returned to campus early to prepare and avoid the New Year rush.
Now, with exams disrupted again, these students will be stuck on campus, facing unnecessary expenses and uncertainty.
Other students are worried about the impact of the delays on their academic progress and the start of the new semester.
Some university managers have said that they understand the students’ predicament and are working to minimize the disruption.
They are calling on the lecturers’ unions to return to the negotiating table and find a lasting solution.
With no signs of a tangible solution soon, students are in limbo, facing a stressful and uncertain start to the academic year.
- Ms. Mirimba is a student, Laikipia University
