UNSA Gives Government 72 Hours to End Lecturers’ Strike Over KSh11.5 Billion Arrears

University of Nairobi Students Association (UNSA) has set a 72-hour deadline for the Ministry of Education to resolve the lecturers’ strike that has halted teaching in public universities.

The deadline, announced on Friday October 16, 2026, expires on Wednesday October 21, 2026, and UNSA President Ahmed Rashid warned that students will march to the Ministry if no response is received.

The strike, which began nearly two weeks earlier, is being led by the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) and Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU), who demand implementation of the collective bargaining agreement, salary and allowance adjustments and payment of about KSh11.5 billion in arrears.

The collective bargaining agreement is described as covering 2025-2029 in one report and 2027-2029 in another.

UNSA Secretary-General Tony Ochieng said the prolonged disruption has left students depressed, idle and turning to drugs, while UNSA Chief of Staff Michael Soi noted that pharmacy students and others have been unable to sit examinations.

The interruption threatens graduation schedules, with some students facing delays to the December graduation ceremony.

Dr Robert Gitau, Secretary-General of the UASU Kirinyaga County branch, said lecturers will not resume teaching until their three demands are honoured, describing the situation as “being taken round in circles like nursery school children”.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba previously urged lecturers to end the strike, stating that the government had fulfilled its financial obligations under earlier collective bargaining agreements.

Student Richard Orombe of Machakos University said the strike has forced some students to return home, increasing financial strain on families paying rent.