KENYA: Moi University students express frustrations over perennial strikes, 9 years after admission

 By Emily Chebet

 Published on: November 15, 2024 08:50 (EAT)

Moi University Medical students have been at the university for nine years, and their hopes of graduating continue to fade with each passing day. Citizen TV spoke to some of the students who still cling to hope and are studying on their own, with some having given up and left the institution. The students face delays in completing their courses due to perennial strikes compounded by the current state of the North Rift-based campus. The frustration among the occupants is palpable—medical students who once walked in with ambition now carry the weight of years lost to strikes and endless delays. Moi University Medical students have been at the university for nine years, and their hopes of graduating continue to fade with each passing day. Citizen TV spoke to some of the students who still cling to hope and are studying on their own, with some having given up and left the institution. The students face delays in completing their courses due to perennial strikes compounded by the current state of the North Rift-based campus. The frustration among the occupants is palpable—medical students who once walked in with ambition now carry the weight of years lost to strikes and endless delays. Lyn Ndegwa scored an A of 83 points from Kerema Girls. She and others were elated to join Moi University, once a beacon of hope. "I still remember the joy that everyone had because I was top in Nyandarua County. I was called by Equity Bank to go and work there as a top girl. It was a big celebration," she lamented. Another medical student Ochieng Francis added: "It's been long. We joined here in October 2016. We are at our ninth year; we have already done eight years." A number of students have left the institution following a month-long strike, while a few hold discussions with the hope that all will be well soon. "It has been very tiring, very draining in every way. We are physically drained, mentally drained," Noor Salyani said. Emmanuel Gudu added, "We came with very lofty ambitions. For me, I wanted to be an ophthalmology neurosurgeon, and we don't want to give up on our dreams." For these students, every day is a struggle against the erosion of their dreams. They cannot practice until they graduate and get a license after a year of internship. "Those who are currently in class are the people who, when we were joining the university, were in class four. When I go to the village, this bright student who topped the district—they think medicine has become difficult for me," Ochieng Francis stated. "The notion out there is maybe I dropped school, or I have decided to do other things apart from what I am supposed to do in school. But that is not the case," A Class Representative Victor Kigen noted. Lyn added, "We are your children. We didn’t want to be here, and we are all bright people. We deserve better, and we cannot do anything, but they can. They can actually get us back to class because that is what we really want. We are really frustrated for staying this long." The medical students were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the doctors' strike by KMPDU, the nurses' strike, and the MTRH strike. "There are those who have severe mental issues and stress, like the sixth-year medical students. Last week, they were undergoing therapy by our colleagues in MTRH. So, a lot of adversity," said Prof. Tenge.

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