As students at other public universities resumed classes after lecturers ended their strike, the situation is getting worse at cash-strapped Moi University (MU).

More than 900 teaching staff vowed to stay away from lecture rooms until administrators clear a total of Sh8.6 billion in pension, unremitted loans, union fees and other deduction arrears.

The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) told embattled Vice Chancellor Prof Isaac Kosgey to address their grievances first before they could return to work.

Led by UASU chapter chairman Richard Okero (pictured), the dons warned that no amount of threats and intimidation would force them to back down on their demands, which they said were legitimate.

“How can the VC summon the students to resume learning and yet he has not even bothered to engage us in dialogue regarding the thorny issues we have raised with the institution’s management?” he said.

“If that is the case, then let him go and teach them in the lecturer rooms.”

He claimed the VC had shown a don’t-care attitude towards lectures, adding that he had evaded them whenever they needed to talk with him about their welfare.

Okero said MU should not be expected to regain its stature as long as the VC and the university council were still at the helm, blaming them for mismanagement of resources running into billions of shillings.

At MU’s main campus in Kesses, Uasin Gishu, lecture rooms remained empty as scores of students roamed the grounds and others kept busy with pool games at a nearby trading centre. The most affected are first-years, who had not yet undergone orientation since they reported in September.

Stalemate

Students that People Daily spoke to asked President Ruto to help end the stalemate between lecturers and administrators.

“Since I reported to the campus in September, I have never been taught and yet my parents have paid fees for the whole year, including money for the hostel,” said a first-year student studying for a bachelor’s degree in education. Another student, who sought anonymity, said that if the strike continued until December, she would consider joining a private university and continue her studies in economics.

“My parents are not happy with what is going on at the university and they have assured me that should the situation not change by December, they will have to seek admission for me in a private university next year,” she said.

Also facing anxiety are the final-year students whose graduation ceremony hangs in balance, as the university has not said when this will happen. After weeks of industrial action, lecturers from public universities agreed to resume work four days ago following the signing of a return-to-work formula with the Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum.