The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has assured university and TVET students that their tuition and upkeep needs will be fully met, ending months of concern over delays that threatened to disrupt studies.
The agency announced that Sh26.1 billion has already been sent to universities and Sh7.9 billion to TVET institutions for the 2024/2025 academic year.
It added that supplementary budget allocations would cover any remaining shortfalls in the coming semester.
HELB Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari said the board is financially stable and ready to support all learners.
“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,” he said.
His remarks followed complaints from students who had reported delays in receiving their loans, leaving many unable to register for classes or sit exams. Monari reassured that no eligible student would miss learning due to HELB payment delays.
He further disclosed that the board had reached an understanding with university leaders to ensure learners are not penalised when disbursements delay.
“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,” he said.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba supported this position, saying, “No student who deserves to be in university and who needs to will miss their position because of their status in life.”
In a bid to improve fairness, HELB has removed banding in loan allocations. Monari also disclosed that the board is exploring a social bond to secure funds for loan repayments, as only about 67 per cent of past beneficiaries meet their obligations, leaving 33 per cent in default.
“People should come forward and start repaying their loans. Last year we received Sh5 billion, which we used to pay for our students; 499,000 currently in university and 114,000 TVET students,” he said.
The board’s funding challenges have had severe impacts in recent years. In July, HELB admitted it did not have sufficient resources to issue new loans. Of the Sh48 billion required in the last financial year, only Sh26 billion was provided, leaving more than 100,000 students partially or completely unsupported.
At the time, Monari explained, “We paid upkeep for some, but not tuition. Second semester is worse; we haven’t paid tuition at all. Universities and TVETs are bleeding. We avoided protests, but the money is simply not enough.”
To strengthen recovery efforts, HELB is pushing for access to data from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to trace defaulters.
“Some have bought cars but won’t repay their HELB loans; that has to stop,” Monari said.
For long-term sustainability, the board has also proposed reforms, including a three per cent VAT allocation to higher education, similar to Ghana’s 2.5 per cent contribution, as well as a voluntary savings plan for parents to ease overreliance on government funding.
