The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) have announced the extension of the extension of the 100% penalty waiver to June 30 22. The waiver was introduced to cushion those paying their student loans from the impact of COVID-19.
The waiver dubbed Kamilisha Malipo ya HELB was originally planned to run between 1st March 2022 to 30th April 2022 but has now been extended to 30th June 2022.
HELB urged those paying off their student loans to take advantage of the waiver to clear without incurring any penalties. The board stated that the waiver was extended on account of numerous requests from student loan beneficiaries.
HELB CEO CPA Charles Ringera sought to explain why the waiver was introduced and highlighted several challenges “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kenya like many other countries globally has experienced a slowing down of the economy over the last two years. We acknowledge that unemployment and underemployment as well as a challenging environment for loanees to start and run businesses, has affected HELB loan repayment. This, coupled with inadequate funding from the Excheqeur (The National Treasury) has inadvertently created a funding challenge for students seeking HELB loans.”
More than 75,000 university students have failed to get State loans after HELB ran out of cash. The students who joined public universities in September, will have to wait till the Treasury offers it Ksh. 3 billion for initial disbursement. If HELB is able to access more funds through the waiver, more students will be able to access much needed funds.
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is a government sponsored program that gives educational loans to vulnerable students who cannot afford higher education loans. Students in universities, colleges and TVET institutions can apply for a HELB loan.