THE re-opening of Masinde Muliro University that was scheduled for today has been postponed indefinitely. "Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology would like to inform all students that the re-opening dates announced earlier are hereby cancelled," read a message posted on the college's Director of Communication, Prof Egara Kabaji's FaceBook wall.

The notice attributed to Vice Chancellor, Prof Barasa Wangila, asked students to continue with the recess until further notice.

The move is believed to have been triggered by an impending strike by lecturers. The university was closed down mid last month after lecturers laid down tools over non implementation of the 2010/2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that awarded them a 33 per cent pay hike, a 7 per cent increase in allowances by the management turned chaotic.

Students who were sitting end-of-semester papers joined the lecturer's strike and destroyed property before the management closed down the institution. The abortive exams were set to resume on Monday.

The changes also coincided with a strike notice issued by the university chapter of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) over the simmering pay row.

The notice was a follow up to a another one issued to the management on December 21 over the issue. "Though your officials and you have been pressing through writing and picketing for payment of our salaries allowances as negotiated between UASU and IPUCCF in the 2010-2013 CBA, the management has refused to listen to us yet it received Sh226.2 million from the Government for the implementation of this CBA," the notice reads.