Helb, which is currently struggling to recover Sh7.7 billion from former students, said the money adds to its growing pool of bad debts.
Out of the deaths, 110 beneficiaries were killed in the April 2015 Garissa University terror attack that claimed 147 people, leading to a Sh7.82 million loss to Helb.
The Garissa University victims accounts for 14 percent of Helb’s death-linked losses.
The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) says it has been forced to write off Sh55.6 million after it established that 653 beneficiaries have since passed on.
The agency, which is currently struggling to recover Sh7.7 billion from former students, said the money adds to its growing pool of bad debts.
Out of the deaths, 110 beneficiaries were killed in the April 2015 Garissa University terror attack that claimed 147 people, leading to a Sh7.82 million loss to Helb.
The Garissa University victims accounts for 14 percent of Helb’s death-linked losses.
The higher education financier has already indicated that it may not be able to provide loans to over 113,953 eligible students citing cash crunch.
The agency whose student funding budget for the year to June stands at Sh15.5 billion had hoped to recover Sh4.9 billion from past loanees.
Over the past 24 years, the Helb has financed the education of more than 946,000 students in universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges.
“During the last 24 years, Helb has disbursed over Sh110 billion,” said Helb chief executive Charles Ringera in a statement.
However, loan defaulters have weakened the agency’s ability to support university freshers and continuing students, prompting allocation cuts.
The agency said it is currently in pursuit of some 78,328 loan defaulters holding Sh7.7 billion as at 31 December last year.
Beneficiaries are expected to start repaying one year after completing studies. The HELB Act of 1995 does not peg loan repayment to employment.
Garissa University has grappled with low enrolment rates following a 2015 terror attack and only regained only recently regained the confidence of the public.
The 2019 data from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) shows the 737 freshmen have been posted to the university against the 1,255 available slots.
The 737 placement was a 5.2 percent improvement from the 700 freshmen admitted at institution in 2018, and a 52 percent improvement from the 350 absorbed in 2017.
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