Lecture halls across Kenya's public universities filled up again on Monday, 2 November, as academic staff returned to work after a strike that shut down teaching in 35 institutions for close to four weeks.

The University of Nairobi said in a statement signed by Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Prof John Mande that "teaching, learning, examinations, research and other functions" would resume on Monday. It also told students to clear any pending fees and attend lectures "without fail". The Technical University of Kenya told students normal activities would restart at 7am, and the University of Eldoret said timetables would be revised to make up for lost time.

How the lost weeks will be recovered

The Principal Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Dr Beatrice Inyangala, has asked universities to review their academic calendars and arrange to recover the four weeks lost to the industrial action, the Daily Nation reported.

Two options are on the table, depending on how far each university had gone before lecturers downed tools:

  • Extending the current semester by one or two weeks where teaching stopped completely.
  • Intensive "crash" teaching programmes to cover missed units within the existing calendar.

The chair of the Vice-Chancellors' Committee said universities where teaching had stopped would have to push semester dates forward, while those that continued teaching, such as the University of Embu, would not need to change their calendars.

The return-to-work formula signed on Friday also commits both sides to programmes for recovering the lost learning, according to Citizen Digital, although the details have been left to individual institutions.

What the deal says

The strike was called on October 2 by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and KUDHEIHA over the implementation of the 2025-2029 collective bargaining agreements.

It ended after the unions and the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum signed a Sh20 billion package, to be released in three tranches of Sh6.7 billion, Sh6.7 billion and Sh6.6 billion over the next three financial years. Lecturers will receive a 3.5 per cent basic salary increase every year for four years, backdated to July 2025, and all disciplinary action started during the strike is to be withdrawn.

UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga described the agreement as "a compromise", while PS Inyangala said the resolution was "part of an ongoing process".

Students count the cost

For students, the return is only the first step. Many had travelled home or paid for accommodation they could not use, and final-year students face the risk of delayed examinations and graduation dates if calendars are pushed into next year, as happened after previous strikes.

Students are being advised to check official notices from their own universities, since arrangements will differ from one campus to another.

Photos: KBC (University of Nairobi); Citizen Digital (UASU officials). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.