HELB Sued Over New Scholarship Requirement
Two lawyers in Nairobi have filed a lawsuit against the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) over an updated requirement for those pursuing master’s and doctoral scholarships.
Mr. Moses Mabeya and Mr. Vincent Yegon have filed a case at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court challenging Helb’s demand that applicants for a partial scholarship in the 2023–24 academic year must have attained a minimum of a second class, upper division, in their previous studies.
In an advertisement published on August 1 soliciting scholarship applications, Helb listed, among other requirements, a letter of admission to a local university recognized by the Commission on University Education and a minimum of a second-class, upper division grade point average.
On the day the advertisement was published, the two legal practitioners promptly filed a lawsuit.
They assert that the advertisement lacks transparency and accountability, asserting that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has introduced an unlawful minimum eligibility requirement for students pursuing or intending to pursue master’s or PhD programs.
The minimum entry requirement violates the eligibility criteria outlined in Section 2 of the Higher Education Loans Board Act.
Citing the Helb Act, the advocates stated that a candidate must be a Kenyan citizen who has met the minimum entry requirements and been accepted to a university for a course lasting longer than one year.
They claimed that the directive was irregular and illegal because there had been no public consultation seeking the opinions of all parties involved.
“Students from modest backgrounds who earned a second-class, lower-division, or lower grade cannot obtain a student loan to further their education due to this decision.”
At the conclusion of their undergraduate studies, university students are classified as first class honors, followed by second class honors, upper division, then second-class honors, lower division, and lastly, pass. As requested, Justice Lawrence Mugambi did not certify the matter as urgent. The topic will be discussed on October 3.
HELB Sued Over New Scholarship Requirement