Loading article content...
Loading article content...
Kenya, 28 October 2026 - Classes in university lecture rooms are going to resume on 2 November 2026, after University Academic Staff Union (UASU) Secretary General Constantine Wasonga announced on Wednesday that the dons and the government had reached a verbal agreement worth KSh 20 billion to end the strike.
The four-week strike had paralysed all learning at universities across the country.
The lecturers were demanding KSh 98 billion, but the government had initially made a KSh 11.96 billion counteroffer, an amount the dons rejected, saying it was too little.
Wasonga described the KSh 11.96 billion counteroffer as “awfully inadequate” and insisted that the union did not negotiate global lump-sum figures.
Before the KSh 20 billion deal, they had demanded that the government honour the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The new deal is set to be signed on Friday, 30 October 2026. The deal from the Education Ministry covers basic salaries and allowances under the 2025-2029 CBA.
“What is remaining is for the technical team to put together, on pen and paper, what we agreed on,” he said.
More from Kenya
At the heart of the dispute was the 2025-2029 CBA, which the university academic staff said had been delayed for nearly a year. They also demanded full payment of outstanding arrears, including around KSh 7.9 billion in prior dues.
The members had agreed with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum to conclude the negotiations before the end of 2025, but nothing fruitful was realised at the time.
Learners have been at home since 2 October 2026, awaiting the outcome of negotiations between the lecturers and the government.
Union officials, led by UASU Secretary General have been demanding full implementation of the 2025-2029 CBA.
A solution to this stalemate is a major breakthrough as many Kenyan media and other stakeholders had questioned the billions spent on campaigns as politicians seek elective positions in the 2027 General Election while ignoring the education sector.