HELB Starts Disbursement Of remaining Batches
HELB has begun the disbursement process. It has been two weeks since students from various educational institutions began classes for the new academic year, which began recently. Many people applied for academic grants and loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) before the start of the semester.
To give ample time for processing, verification, allocation, and final distribution, qualified applicants should apply for a loan at least one month before the start of classes.
Qualified applicants can expect a loan payout of ksh. 37,000 to 60,000 (depending on their requirements) 14 days before the semester begins. However, the board ran into unavoidable issues that hindered its scheduled efforts.
The situation prompted student leaders from a variety of institutions, including former University of Nairobi student leader and current Member of Parliament for Embakasi East, Babu Owin, and Kenya University Students Organization (KUSO) president Anthony Manyara, to advocate for faster HELB loan disbursement. They even threatened to stage a protest outside the HELB offices if the board failed to act.
The government has increased HELB funding allocation from ksh. 15 billion to ksh. 30 billion, increasing the board’s financial capacity to serve more qualified and needy students. President William Ruto has stated his determination to see his education plan through to completion.
The government has also stated its full support for a new university finance model that will ensure that all students, regardless of gender, tribe, or age, have access to high-quality education through funding. Education CS Ezekiel Machogu has confirmed that all funding applicants will be granted.
To date, many applications have a “Payout In Progress” status, which indicates that a successful application has passed all phases of authentication, including registration, verification, and allocation. It is up to HELB to credit the funds to the appropriate bank accounts.
Almost three-quarters of applicants, the majority of whom are continuing students, have batch numbers. Batch 5026 was paid last week, and the remaining batches will be paid soon. Students are asked to be patient while they go through these procedures.
Students who are having difficulty applying for loans are recommended to contact the local Huduma center or the HELB offices in Nairobi’s Anniversary Towers. They can also contact HELB by phone at 0711052000 or by email at contactcentre@helb.co.ke.