University lecturers and the government struck a KSh 20 billion deal on October 28 to end the lecturers' strike. The Daily Nation and The Star both reported the agreement that evening. The Star said the deal was reached between the government and the lecturers' union, UASU. Its headline greeted the breakthrough as "white smoke".
The agreement came after intense talks, the Daily Nation reported on October 30. The paper published an inside account of the negotiations that unlocked the KSh 20 billion deal.
The Standard reported on October 31 that the deal leaves lecturers with a 3.5 percent salary increase. On the same day, the Daily Nation published a breakdown of what lecturers will earn under the new terms.
Not every dispute is settled. The Star reported on October 29 that some issues remain unresolved despite the pay deal. Its report came a day after the agreement was announced.
The strike cost students about four weeks of learning, according to the Daily Nation. Universities now plan crash programmes and longer semesters to recover the lost weeks. The paper reported the recovery plans on October 31, three days after the deal was struck.
Students had pressed both sides to end the walkout. Students at JKUAT urged the government and lecturers to end the strike, the Kenya News Agency reported. That report came on October 28, the day the deal was reached. Two days later, a Daily Nation editorial called for learning to be restored after the deal.
With the pay deal agreed, attention turns to the campuses and the task of recovering lost teaching time.