Technical University students protest staff strike as varsity remains shut

Frustrated Technical University of Kenya (TUK) students have decried the ongoing staff strike that has kept them out of class for months. The students took to the streets on Wednesday to protest following the university's indefinite closure on February 3 due to unpaid salaries and statutory deductions.

The students stormed the office of the Vice-Chancellor, demanding the reopening of the institution before marching to the Ministry of Education to seek answers over the crisis. They insisted that their academic future was at stake, calling on authorities to intervene.

Early this month, Moses Wamalwa, the university's academic registrar, issued a memo announcing the closure and instructing all diploma and undergraduate students to vacate the premises immediately.

The university also issued orders for students to leave the campus, including those living in the residence halls.

The university’s academic staff went on strike on January 23, 2025, after the expired strike notice they had sent to the Ministry of Education, the National Treasury, and Parliament. The lecturers protested that they had not received their salaries since September 2024 and that statutory deductions were not being remitted to relevant bodies.

As the strike persisted, students joined in the demonstrations, prompting the university’s management to shut down the institution indefinitely. The closure has now left thousands of learners stranded, with no clear timeline for the resumption of studies.

While addressing the media outside the Ministry of Education offices, the students accused the university's management of failing to resolve the crisis, warning that they would not remain silent while their education was jeopardised.

“A university that once stood as a beacon of technical excellence is now a shadow of itself, with learning paralysed and futures hanging in limbo,” they said.

Higher Education and Research Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala had to intervene amid the chaos, insisting that the financial crisis crippling the institution requires a structured and sustainable approach.

Inyangala said accountability for the crisis lay at multiple levels, urging the students to allow ongoing discussions to yield a long-term solution.

“You know accountability rests in different levels, okay? So when you ask why I am not taking action, I think you’re also not being fair because we all know where the problem is,” she said.

Comparing the university’s financial situation to a patient in intensive care, Inyangala noted that recovery would take time.

“When you say a patient is in ICU, you give us time to find a dialogue, surgery, and everything. We shouldn’t want to die. What should we do now as students who are just floating outside here, engaging in illicit deeds?” she posed.

She encouraged students to use this period productively, suggesting they focus on non-contact hours.

“As a student, you do so much. What happens to you, not just now, but in the future? You have a responsibility, even as students, to contribute—to your families, your communities, and even this country,” the PS said.

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She cited a similar crisis at Moi University as evidence that the financial difficulties at TUK were not unique and that careful intervention was necessary.

“You recognise that these issues are not unique to TUK. We have just gone through a similar process with Moi University. And the issue is, when a patient is sick, it takes time to recover,” she said.

She revealed that discussions with TUK’s management were ongoing to develop a recovery plan that would prevent the institution from facing similar financial struggles in the future.

“You cannot just wake up overnight and dream up a recovery plan for an institution that has been mismanaged for years. You need data; you need to put things together, and you need a plan that is sustainable and implementable,” the PS said.

She assured the students that they were making progress and that they would soon receive a solid plan.

“We have made a lot of progress, and next week we should be able to communicate some solid steps forward,” Inyangala said.

Inyangala also criticised the striking lecturers, accusing them of failing to honour an agreement to return to class after receiving their December salaries.

“You know that your lecturers had not been paid, and we had a conversation. We agreed to look for all ways and means to pay them their December salaries so they would go back to class. We paid them that money, but they did not return to class,” she said.

Technical University of Kenya students outside the Ministry of Education offices demanding answers over the university’s closure pic.twitter.com/gGiSDk6YuN

— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) February 19, 2025

She contrasted the situation with Moi University, where lecturers resumed teaching despite not receiving financial incentives.

“At Moi University, the lecturers went back to class based on the conversation we had. We did not give them a single coin. So that goodwill is also important. We are extending the olive branch; they should also show some goodwill,” the PS said.

She urged lecturers to engage in discussions with the government instead of prolonging the crisis.

“There are mechanisms of securing funds from the Treasury. There are budgets, structures, and frameworks, and we are exploring all of them. But we also need the goodwill of the lecturers. Once we paid them the salaries as agreed, they should not have proceeded on strike,” she added.

Inyangala maintained that the government was working on a long-term solution but required cooperation from all stakeholders.

“We are co-creating a sustainable plan because solutions cannot just drop from the sky. We must sit down with management, agree on what can work, and secure the support of the Treasury and other arms of government,” she said.

The students have now called on Parliament to intervene, arguing that the government must step in before the situation worsens.

“Education is a fundamental right, and what is happening at TUK is an outright injustice. A whole semester has been lost since September, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” they added.

The students vowed to continue pushing for a resolution, warning that they will not be used as pawns in the dispute between management and staff.

“Let it be known that students will not be the sacrificial lambs in this battle. If this crisis is not resolved immediately, we shall explore other means to ensure our right to education is not trampled upon,” they said.

They urged all stakeholders to address the crisis before the institution collapses completely.

The students declared, "The future of thousands is at stake, and history will not be kind to those who let TUK fall."