Helb begins disbursing Sh8.2 billion to first years
Chief Executive Officer Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Charles Ringera at Continental House Nairobi on September 13, 2023. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG
The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) has started disbursing Sh8.2 billion to learners in universities and technical vocational education and training colleges (TVETs), ending months of pain for the students.
Helb chief executive Charles Ringera told Business Daily that scholarships, loans, and bursaries would be released under the new funding system.
The tranche will benefit 96,000 learners in public universities and about 9,655 students in private universities first, said Mr Ringera.
The disbursement comes as a relief for the learners under the new model of funding that categorised students from less needy to the vulnerable using a means testing tool.
Delays in disbursement resulted in the Ministry of Education instructing universities to admit new learners without insisting on fee payment.
“We have started disbursing the funds for learners under the new funding model that will cover semester one of their studies,” he said on Thursday.
“The back of the envelope number is about Sh8.2 billion for semester one for university and TVET students.”
The Helb boss said first-time applications will continue until the government advises otherwise.
The agency said it required Sh10 billion from the Treasury to process loan applications.
Under the old model, Helb funded needy students to the tune of between Sh35,000 and Sh60,000 per year, but the average allocation has dropped from Sh47,000 to Sh37,000.
