HELB Updates on University Funding Applications: Students to Wait Longer
Students who applied for university and college education funding have received preliminary results, but they will have to wait a little longer to learn their fate.
The CEO of the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), Charles Ringera, says that 139,060 first-year university students have applied for government funding under the model that will be implemented for the first time this year.
This is in contrast to the anticipated 140,107 students placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps) in various degree programs.
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Mr. Ringera stated that they have obtained preliminary results, and they are currently in the process of validating this information. He mentioned that this validation process will continue for a few more days.
Students assigned to technical and vocational education and training (Tvet) institutions submitted an additional 109,798 applications, bringing the total number of new applicants to 248,858.
There was a one-month extension of the application deadline to Saturday.
Since Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu ordered institutions to admit students without tuition fees while they awaited the outcome of their applications, students have been eagerly anticipating the results.
During a previous event, Geoffrey Monari, the CEO of the Universities Fund (UF), initially allocated a budget for 155,814 students, but in the end, they placed 140,107 students.
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He noted that out of these, 130,485 students who were placed in public universities would receive scholarships and loans, while the remaining 9,662 students placed in private universities would be eligible for loans.
Among other factors, the model determines scholarships and student loans based on an individual’s level of need and the program’s cost. The anticipated cost for the fiscal year 2023-2024 is Sh39.4 billion.
Helb will provide the loan, while UF will provide the scholarships.
However, the 9,662 students assigned to private universities are only eligible for the loan and not the scholarship.
Students admitted to Tvet colleges administered by other ministries are ineligible for funding.
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Mr. Ringera stated that dissatisfied students will have the option to file an appeal once they receive the results of their allocations.
Appellate procedure “There is an appeal procedure in the system once categorization has been determined,” he said.
Helb disbursed Sh10.5 billion to continuing students for tuition and living expenses last week. The new funding model has not affected continuing students.
Mr. Machogu stated that the government distributed Sh8.4 billion to students in public universities and Sh441 million to continuing students in private universities in September.
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They transferred Sh3 billion to cover tuition for continuing students in Tvet colleges.
Mr. Machogu conveyed that the government wants to provide assurance to students, parents, guardians, and higher education institutions.
He stated that they are currently making all necessary efforts to ensure they disburse the loans and scholarships to the applicants in a timely manner to support their educational endeavors.
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HELB Updates on University Funding Applications: Students to Wait Longer
