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Students unrest has become the currency with which business is conducted in most public universities locally.
In the past two week alone, there have been at least three reported cases of students going on strike and damaging school and public property. In most cases, this has led to the respective institutions being closed down indefinitely. But what is behind this worrying trend?
The latest wave was started by Multimedia University students, who took to the streets to protest the death of their colleague. The first year student had only been in the university for three weeks before she was involved a road accident on Langata Road on September 25. Shortly after, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology was closed down after students continually interrupted lectures and allegedly destroyed property. They had been absconding lectures since October 3. Their frustrations bubbled over. Their problem was an alleged refusal by the university administration to engage them in discussion regarding the increased examination fees.
On October 10, Kibabii University in Bungoma was also closed indefinitely following violent protests over delayed release of examination results by students. Maseno University has seen its share of student riots, one of the more recent ones even resulting in the School of Public Health building being burned down. Faith Atsango, a leading psychologist, believes this is an issue that has been cultivated in our society.
“We have become used to seeing people, even our leaders, going to extremes to get what they want. It is not unlike that child who throws a tantrum to get attention.”
For most university students, however, this kind of mass action is their only course of action.
“Mass action works,” says Timothy*, a Communication and Media Technology student at Maseno University. “We have tried to follow the right channels to present our grievances to the administration, but they are either too slow to respond or they don’t respond at all.”
David Kemboi, the Students Governing Council Secretary for Masinde Muliro University, shares this view.
“As student leaders, we have tried severally to sit down with the administration, but they refuse to listen to us.”
Dr. Bob Mbori, the Director for Public Communication and Publishing at the University, insists that communication channels were always open. “Our students are our first customers, so of course we have a responsibility to listen to them. We have class and faculty representatives, as well as a Students’ Governing Council for this very purpose.”
Perminus Wainaina, Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services Ltd, has however warned rioting students that their behaviour may prevent them from getting jobs.
“Most employers can get access to your past through social media. They become less inclined to hire you if the first thing they see is images of you destroying property. It’s not their fault, this is a perception that exists in society, that students from public universities are riotous. It is only natural that they fear this will translate to the workplace.”
