Students leaders demands on ongoing lecturers strike.

University student leaders have vowed to demand for reimbursement of fees paid for the January semester owing to the fact that students in public universities have not been learning due to the lecturers' strike.

The leaders on Sunday during an interview on KBC Television said a lot of time had been lost with negotiations between the government and the union failing to see the light, a situation they say will affect public universities calendar.

Multimedia University students' President Omwoyo Maranga said the stalemate had caused jittering among students who had been scheduled to graduate in December this year with SONU chairman Babu Owino indicating that at the University of Nairobi, many will have to forget about their supposed September graduation.

Mr. Maranga, who sits at the university senate said negotiations to have fees refunded or carried forward had seemed to be hitting a snag as senior members of the senate had argued that the students were in school and that only the lecturers were on strike.

"If negotiations fail, we will use a method they understand best to demand what is rightfully ours just like the lecturers are and we fully support their strike," said Maranga.

The SONU chairman said union leaders had met the UASU leaders and the Education CS Fred Matiang’i and presented him with the students' grievances but little had been done to solve the matter.

He has threatened to lead a major demonstration to have lecturers back to class.

"Comrades operate on a budget from parents and right now all the resources have been used completely yet no learning has been going on. We did not rush in making decisions and that is why we have allowed negotiations but have failed to bear any fruits," said Babu Owino

He has called on public universities' administration to consider closing all the institutions since nothing constructive is going on.

Mount Kenya University's students' President Martin Owila confirmed that learning is ongoing as usual in private universities as usual and assured his counterparts in public institutions of their support in their quest to have learning resume as soon as possible.

"Learning is ongoing but that does not stop us from being comrades. We always say once a comrade, always a comrade and we will support those in public universities in their efforts to have classes resume as it affects all of us." Said Owilo.