Lecturers’ strike is a distress call, we need to respond

New developments continue to protract the strike; manifestly, this shove and pull make the student the underdog. The learning seizure in higher education continues to take a heavy toll on students. Save for the few private universities, students in public universities have been abandoned to their own devices.

On this occasion, the strike came impetuously since talks between players were not concluded. A closed-door meeting last month spelled the arrest of the academic calendar, this time, ad nauseam.

New twists and turns continue to snarl up the whole thing first was blame game, then accusations and counter-accusations and of late a court ruling.

In the latter case, the industrial and labor relations court ordered the lecturers to resume work by Monday 19 and gave the government 30 days to pay the dons.

Nevertheless, this ruling begot even more discontent as it was counteracted by a pledge to aggravate the industrial mass action and a bid to have the case heard in the appellate court.

By keenly examining these events, one can infer that strikes have become the end rather than a means to end disharmony in remuneration.

Amidst these tussles, the comrade has borne the brunt of violation of a right as fundamental as access to education. Resources of time have been lost and money wasted. Could this terminate in a hastened semester where beating deadlines supersede quality education?

The comrade has had a fair share of injustices. Education has been an uphill task. Mind you, Kenya is yet to achieve the feat of Nobel Prize for Science and Literature.

Only the students can realize this. We, the cream of the society are expecting to adapt life just as our counterparts in private varsities, the Ivy Leaguers or the Silicon Valley research students.

A round-table, give-and-take negotiation shall see an end to this. All stakeholders need to meet each other halfway irrespective of their interests. Desperate times call for desperate measures.