Govt Has Disbursed Enough HELB Funds – President Ruto
During his three-day visit to Kisii, Nyamira, and Migori Counties, President William Ruto spoke out against reports suggesting that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is facing a financial crisis.
According to the President, the government has disbursed enough funds to HELB in the past two weeks for lending to students across the country.
This comes after HELB CEO Charles Ringera informed the Parliament’s Public Investments Committee on Education and Governance (PICEG) that approximately 140,000 public university students had missed out on State loans in the current fiscal year since the loans board had depleted its cash reserves.
According to Ringera, HELB will have to wait for the national exchequer to release Ksh.5.7 billion for it to remit the loans to the university students who mostly use the advance to pay for their tuition fees and upkeep.
The CEO added that the State did not accede to HELB’s request to cover the cash shortage via an additional budget.
HELB received Ksh.14.8 billion from the exchequer for the disbursement of student loans in the current fiscal year. Successful loan applicants are eligible to receive between Ksh.35,000 and Ksh.60,000 annually.
Ringera also disclosed that every month, the organization collects around Ksh.400 million from former loan beneficiaries, which is added to the quarterly disbursements by the Treasury to service applications by ongoing students.
President Ruto’s statement seemingly contradicts HELB CEO’s testimony to PICEG. While the CEO claimed that the organization had depleted its cash reserves, the President stated that enough funds had been disbursed for lending to students across the country.
It remains unclear which of the two assertions is true, as no official clarification has been issued by the relevant parties.
However, the President’s statement suggests that the government is committed to funding higher education in the country, as evidenced by the planned hiring of 2,000 additional teachers for TVET institutions.
Govt Has Disbursed Enough HELB Funds – President Ruto
