HELB Beneficiaries Told To Clear Outstanding Balances to Help Rising Needy Cases
The Principal Secretary of State Department for University Education and Research, Ambassador Simon Nabukwesi has called on Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) beneficiaries to pay up outstanding balances to help in making funds available for the growing cases of needy students.
According to Nabukwesi, defaulters owe HELB billions which he claimed could be sufficient to sustain it and support many more students to enrol in universities.
“Funding of students in need of loans is as low as 57 per cent of their need and not 100 per cent as it used to be in the beginning,” said PS Amb Nabukwesi.
He also added that the exchequer’s allocation which was not proportionate to the rising number of needy students has caused an imbalance.
Nabukwesi also implored universities to be innovative in developing new revenue streams as well as implementing cost-cutting measures in order to stay financially relevant amid budget cuts.
Nabukwesi reserved praise for Embu University for its good use of funds which allowed the institution to build a 660-seat lecture theatre to add to what the government is doing. Besides, the institution has also installed solar panels in the administration building which allowed it to save around Kshs. 125,000 per month in electricity bills.
HELB has also recently extended the 100% OVID-19 Penalty Waiver to the 30th of June 2022.
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