Thursday, March 23, 2023 – Over 140,000 students who had applied for High Education Loans Board (HELB) funding were dealt a huge blow after the higher education funding body confirmed that they would miss funding.
HELB’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charles Ringera made the revelation when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Education and noted that the Board had run out of cash.
Parents who have students in universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes will have to dig deeper into their pockets to keep their children in school. The affected individuals will be drawn from across the board.
“Currently we have 140,000 students in TVETS and universities that we have not been able to fund to the tune of Ksh5.7 billion,” Ringera told the committee.
According to the CEO, the board had requested for Ksh4.5 billion from the Treasury but was yet to be disbursed.
HELB loans help keep students from poor backgrounds in school by providing funding for accommodation, tuition and upkeep.
With the rising cost of living, HELB’s failure to release the funds in a timely manner will see many students drop out of school.
The delay in disbursement will also affect students poised to join universities and TVET institutions starting from September 2023.
On Tuesday, March 14, the Ministry of Education revealed that it was looking at recommendations to raise fees for public universities from Sh16,000 to Sh48,000.
The financial woes piling on HELB are at a time when President William Ruto’s government has proposed disbanding the body.
In December last year, Ruto revealed that he would create an alternative body to offer funding for students pursuing tertiary education.
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