With the ongoing lecturer's strike, here's why Kenyans should prepare for population surge

Stakeholders have become complacent and are treating universities like an old car whose allure is long lost. What no one cares to think about is the effects these relentless strikes are going to have.

Academic calendars have already lost relevance. A fourth strike in the span of a year? We will be lucky if we witness a graduation ceremony this year. It is also important to note that incoming first years are have also been thrown into the same system of uncertainty as other students.

Pregnancies
Let us all brace ourselves. If we are being honest, universities are wasting precious time. This means that plans that were put on hold in a bid to seek higher education are now being revisited. People are getting married and starting families and shelving school at the moment.

 Insecurity
There’s something about an idle mind being the devil’s workshop. Remember the increased crime level in Nairobi earlier this year? Remember the student strikes that have been witnessed in the country? Well, that will be soon be child’s play as minds are left to wander. This is because finding a job without a degree certificate is one of the hardest things.
High drop-out rates
When push comes to shove, books will be kept away. It is a huge ask, expecting students to put their lives on pause. Whenever the government and lecturers decide to behave, they will be surprised to find themselves teaching unoccupied desks.

Low quality of education
It gets old and tiring after a while. These incessant strikes are one reason why parents are ready to sell their worldly possessions to send their children abroad or to private universities. The value of public education is deteriorating as each strike begins and ends.

Something has to change, and change soon, because as it is, the education ministry is the oil to the water that is higher education.