University students are a step closer to returning to class after the government expressed its willingness to address the issues raised by lecturers, urging them to call off their strike and return to work.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba on Friday, October 23, urged lecturers to resume work and allow negotiations over salary increases and the delayed 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Thika, the CS said the government had cleared all arrears under the 2017-2021 and 2021-2025 CBAs, adding that there were no arrears under previous agreements.
The CS thus urged the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and individual lecturers to return to work as negotiations continue over the current four-year agreement.
Lecturers singing solidarity songs after holding a press conference in October 2025.
Photo
NMG
“We are committed to the timely negotiation and conclusion of the current CBA. This is why I reiterate my invitation to our university staff unions and individual lecturers to return to work and allow room for negotiations to resolve the pending issues,” he said.
“Let us not interrupt the education of our students over matters that the government has already demonstrated the willingness and readiness to address,” Ogamba added.
The nationwide strike began on October 2, 2026, after negotiations between the university staff unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum collapsed.
At the centre of the dispute is the 2025-2029 CBA, which the unions want negotiated, signed and implemented with clear guarantees that the government will provide the money required to meet the agreed terms.
Lecturers have rejected the government's proposed salary increments, with UASU demanding basic salary increases of 36 to 68 per cent, depending on job grade, alongside improved allowances and benefits.
Other demands include improved medical cover, car loans and mortgage benefits, better pension arrangements and additional staff to address shortages and heavy workloads in public universities.
The unions are also demanding a written government commitment guaranteeing that salaries and obligations arising from the new CBA will be funded through the National Exchequer, rather than relying on university fees.
Meanwhile, Ogamba said the government had hired additional trainers in TVET institutions to ease teaching and supervision workloads and ensure trainees receive adequate attention.
Education CS Julius Ogamba and UASU Secretary General Constantine Wasonga shake hands as other officials look on at Jogoo House on November 4, 2025.
Photo
MOE