HELB FACES DEFICIT, UNABLE TO FUND NEW STUDENTS FOR SEPTEMBER INTAKE

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced that it may be unable to fund new students joining in the September intake due to a severe financial shortfall. Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education, HELB CEO Geoffery Monari revealed that the Board is facing a major funding gap for the 2024/2025 financial year. He disclosed that HELB had distributed Ksh26.1 billion to 322,338 university students and Ksh7.9 billion to 225,048 students enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) institutions. Despite these efforts, over 160,000 eligible students missed out on funding as HELB faced a budget shortfall of Ksh13.7 billion.

 While the Board required Ksh48 billion for the last financial year, it only received Ksh26 billion. Monari confirmed that the board currently lacks the funds to support new loan applications in 2025. He projected that the deficit in the current financial year would rise to Ksh36.1 billion, potentially affecting 468,237 students.

In 2024, HELB prioritized disbursing maintenance funds over tuition fees to curb students unrest, though this has strained universities and TVET colleges that rely on the funds for operations. The CEO also noted that HELB has 1.03 million matured loan accounts, of which 293,122 are non-performing, amounting to Ksh33.2 billion. He noted that many graduates take up to six months to find employment, with many facing underemployment making loan repayment difficult.