Governor Mutai urges UASU to call off lecturers’ strike
Council of Governors’ Committee on Education Chairperson Erick Mutai has appealed to the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) to call off the ongoing lecturers’ strike in public universities, which has now entered its eighth week.
Also Watch: Govt urges lecturers to end strike, vows phased pay plan
You might also like
Mutai said the Council of Governors, in collaboration with the Education Committees of both the National Assembly and the Senate, is ready to step in and facilitate negotiations aimed at restoring normal learning in universities.
“Realising that the nation has been experiencing tough economic times, I urge UASU and the Ministry of Education to find a middle ground so that studies can resume. The ongoing strike is threatening to throw out an entire academic semester,” Mutai stated on Monday, November 3, 2025.
Also Watch: CS Ogambo urges university lecturers to call off strike and resume teaching
Paralysed learning
The strike, which began in early September 2025, has paralysed learning in most public universities across the country. UASU members last week rejected the government’s proposal to pay Ksh7.9 billion in arrears in phases, insisting that the payment must be made in a lump sum.
UASU Secretary General Constantine Wesonga maintained that the union will not resume work until the government honours its commitments, accusing it of reneging on past agreements.
“We have seen this pattern before — promises made and later broken. This time, we will not move until every cent owed to lecturers is paid,” said Wesonga.
The prolonged standoff has thrown university academic calendars into disarray, with fears mounting that students could miss graduations, industrial attachments, and completion of studies.
The first semester, which began in September, was scheduled to end in mid-December 2025 ahead of the Christmas break.
However, with seven weeks already lost and talks yet to bear fruit, many students now face the grim reality of a lost semester, even as universities remain technically open.
