Relief for university students as HELB assures of enough funds

The government has moved to assure students of uninterrupted support for higher education.

Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) CEO Geoffrey Monari says the board is capable of meeting the capitation needs of all university and TVET students, countering fears of financial collapse.

After months of uncertainty that threatened to paralyse institutions of higher learning, HELB is now confident it can fulfil its financial obligations to students.

According to official data, Ksh.26.1 billion has already been disbursed to university students, and Ksh.7.9 billion to TVET trainees in the 2024/2025 cycle.

“Currently, we don’t have any problem; as we go into the next semester, we will have gotten money through supplementary estimates to cater for any shortfall because now we know the number of students. We are on track,” Monari said.

“Students are not allowed into class without a fee card. Starting this week, we go to register, but we’ve been told that without money, we won’t sit exams,” TVET student at P.C. Kinyanjui Isaac Muhia said.

“I applied for HELB in my first academic year; I didn’t receive the semester-one loan. The government scholarship has left my account with a balance of Ksh.233,000. With the portal closing in a week, this will force me to be discontinued,” an Egerton University student Antony Okeyo added.

The government insists that no student who qualifies should be locked out of classes because their institution hasn’t received HELB funds.

 “We have discussed with vice chancellors that if there is money that we have not sent, and we usually have it on our portal, we have given assurance to universities that that money will be paid. Students should not be sent home or miss exams because HELB has not paid,” stated Monari.

Ogamba added, “No student who deserves to be in university and who needs to be will miss their position because of their status in life.”

In line with recent reforms announced by the government to boost efficiency and fairness in loan disbursements, Monari says HELB has eliminated banding in loan allocations.

To strengthen sustainability, HELB is exploring issuing a social bond to securitise loan repayments, helping it cover current students’ funding needs. Monari disclosed that only about 67% of past loan recipients are faithfully repaying, while 33% default.

“People should come forward and start repaying their loans. Last year we received Ksh.5 billion, which we used to pay for our students—499,000 currently in university and 114,000 TVET students,” said Monari.