Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has urged university lecturers to return to class as negotiations on the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) continue, warning that learning should not be disrupted while the parties seek a settlement.

Ogamba said negotiations between the government and university lecturers’ unions were ongoing, with the parties addressing outstanding issues in the proposed CBA.

He appealed to lecturers and their unions to comply with court orders suspending the strike, noting that Kenya operates under the rule of law.

“I keep asking lecturers in the individual unions together with the individual lecturers to obey the court orders because a country believes and operates under the law. There’s nobody who is above the law,” Ogamba said.

The CS said he could not provide details on the outcome of the negotiations as talks were still underway, adding that the parties could reach an agreement in the coming days.

“The negotiations now are taking place and maybe within the next few days we will be able to reach a position,” he said.

Ogamba spoke Tuesday during the flag-off of the distribution of Grade 11 textbooks and other curriculum support materials at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) headquarters in Nairobi.

He said the Government remained committed to resolving outstanding issues affecting university lecturers, recalling that previous CBA disputes covering the 2017–2021 and 2021–2025 periods had been addressed.

“This government again, under the guidance of His Excellency the President, has been able to resolve the outstanding issues of the CBAs of the universities that were outstanding of 2017–2021 and 2021–2025,” Ogamba said.

He assured university lecturers that the Government was committed to addressing issues under the 2025–2029 CBA through continued negotiations with their representatives.

The CS called on lecturers to allow the negotiating teams to continue with the discussions instead of disrupting learning in universities.

“I request that the lecturers do not proceed to disrupt the learning of our students in universities. Please do go back as we allow the team that is already sitting with their unions to negotiate and get a settlement,” he said.

The lecturers’ strike has affected learning in public universities as unions push for the resolution of various issues under the new CBA.

Ogamba maintained that the Government would continue engaging the unions to reach an agreement, while urging lecturers to resume teaching as the negotiations proceed.

The CS’s remarks came as the Ministry of Education also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring uninterrupted learning and providing the necessary resources to support education reforms across the country.

by Sharon Njeru and Nancy Omondi