Education CS Amb Amina Mohammed may prolong the now five-week-long lecturers strike after striking out any talk with the dons over their salaries, State broadcaster, KBC, has said.

Despite an increasing outcry from students, the Ministry of Education has remained adamant that it will not table any counter offer on the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the lecturers until it concludes its audit on all public universities staff, a move set to prolong the strike.

The ministry has insisted that while it sympathizes with the students’ situation, it cannot do anything until the exercise is completed.

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The thorough process would involve collecting opinions from the Treasury and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission before making any counter offer which must be sustainable, even as lectures vow to push on.

No Talks

CS Mohammed has reiterated that there will be no talks until the exercise is concluded a move she says will inform any proposal that the ministry will put on the table.

The CS further stated that the Government had not yet evaluated the cost of implementing the new 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement and if at all it is viable.

In March, Vice chancellors had requested 6.8 billion shillings from the Government to end the university workers’ strike a proposal that was rejected by the University Academic Staff Union, saying the figures were unilaterally arrived at by the vice chancellors.

Lecturers unions on the same stroke have vowed that the strike could take even two years, until their grievances are addressed.