Clearance with the Helb will no longer be a requirement for public sector jobs if NASA wins the August 8 elections.
Nasa will also review Helb’s lending terms to remove penalties that are currently loaded on the loans after the students graduate.
Job seekers have to pay Sh1, 000 to get the clearance certificate from Helb, whether or not they benefited from the loan programme.
Clearance with the Higher Education Loans Board will no longer be a requirement for public sector jobs if the Opposition coalition, the National Super Alliance (NASA), wins the August 8 elections.
“This requirement is unreasonable as graduates from poor families cannot afford to service the loans and yet failing to do so denies them a chance to get employment, “ the coalition’s manifesto unveiled on Tuesday reads in part.
If elected, the Opposition team headed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga said it would also review Helb’s lending terms to remove penalties that are currently loaded on the loans after the students graduate.
In its bid to recover billions of shillings from defaulters, estimated at Sh9.7 billion, Helb has made it mandatory for those seeking government jobs to obtain clearance certificates.
It has also sought to partner with the Federation of Kenya Employers to develop guidelines that employers can use to screen new employees for student loan status when hiring them.
The Helb clearance certificate which indicates whether one is servicing or have completed repaying the loan is normally loaded together with clearance from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), credit reference bureaus as well as the Directorate of Criminal Investigation certificate of good conduct for those seeking employment with national and county governments.
In 2011, a selection panel set up to establish the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, for instance, disqualified lawyer Isaac Mutoka Shivachi from pursuing employment with the agency for failing to repay his Helb loan.
Job seekers have to pay Sh1, 000 to get the clearance certificate from Helb, whether or not they benefited from the loan programme.
NASA also plans to establish a university in every constituency as well as make the loan accessible to all post-secondary education institutions including TIVET.
The plan also includes increased funding for the universities for more research as well as a push for higher transition rates from primary to secondary schools which will be free for all.
The coalition also pledged to increase school infrastructure in primary and secondary schools apart from pursuing innovative ways of financing higher education infrastructure, including Public Private Partnership and government bonds.
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