Lobby Groups Calls for Semester Extension Amid Ongoing University Strike
Said parents and students have incurred heavy losses due to this job boycott.
By Dorothy Yegon
The prolonged lecturers strike has prompted a lobby group, Elimu bora working group, to call for the extension of current university semester to compensate for lost learning time.
Now in its fourth week , the strike continues to paralyse operations across public universities, leaving students idle on campuses with no resolution in sight.
Elimu Bora working Group a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for the right to education in Kenya ,expressed concern on sunday over financial and academic toll , the industrial action has had on students and parents.
"Parents and students have incurred heavy losses due to this job boycott. We cannot afford to sacrifice the quality of education any further" said Maxwell Magawi, Executive director of the Student Caucus within the group.
"Now that we have lost four weeks ,we need to create time for this particular semester. The strict adherence to the original academic calendar is unrealistic".
The strike which resumed on october 29 after being briefly called off stems from university staff demanding full implementation of the 2021-2025 collective Bargaining Agreement(BA) .
The deal was struck between the University Academics staff union(UASU) and Inter-Public Universities Council Counsil Consultative Forum(IPUCCF) in september , but implementation has stalled, sparking the industrial action.
Disruption has since left thousands of students unable to attend lecturers with fear growing that the prolonged boycottcould compromise the quality of education.
Experts argue that quality is often tied to the time spent on coursework, which has now been significantly curtailed.
Elimu Bora working group has urged the government to intervene swiftly not only to resolve the dispute but also ensure that the semester is adjusted to recover the lost time.
As the strike drags on, public universities face mounting challenges , including disrupted academic calendars ,frustrated students , and increasingly strained education system.
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