HELB Issues Update on Loan Applications Deadline for First Time, Undergraduate and TVET Students
- HELB announced that loan applications remain open for first-time applicants and continuing undergraduate and TVET students
- HELB urged all eligible students to submit their applications before the set deadline
- Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba confirmed that HELB had already disbursed KSh 9.46 billion to 309,178 university students
Elijah Ntongai, an editor at TUKO.co.ke, has over four years of financial, business, and technology research and reporting experience, providing insights into Kenyan, African, and global trends.
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has issued an update on student's loan applications.
Source: Twitter
HELB notified the public that the loan application process is still open for first-time applications and continuing undergraduate and TVET students.
When is the HELB application deadline?
The board urged students in need to apply for the funding before the deadline set for August 31.
HELB revealed that as of August 18, 961,023 students had applied to receive higher education funding.
Among the applicants, 660,560 students were in undergraduate courses, while 300,463 students were enrolled for courses in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
How much money did HELB disburse?
In an earlier notice, the CS for Education, Julius Migos Ogamba, stated that the loans board had disbursed a total of KSh 9.46 billion in financial support to 309,178 university students as of August 19.
"This amount comprises Kshs. 5.76 billion for tuition fees and Kshs. 3.7 billion for student upkeep. Students are advised to check their HELB portals to confirm receipt of the funds and to access detailed information regarding their individual HELB loan accounts," read the statement by Ogamba.
The CS emphasised that the Government will continue to provide the requisite funding to ensure that higher education remains accessible and affordable and that no student is left behind on account of financial limitations.
Has HELB awarded loans?
Earlier on August 15, the Ministry of Education announced that 136,634 first-time university applicants had been awarded upkeep loans for the 2025/2026 academic year.
HELB advised students to confirm their loan allocations through the HELB student portal on the Higher Education Financing website and liaise with their respective universities on fee payment schedules.
Source: UGC
Universities have also been directed to access tuition loan allocations for the students via the HELB institutional portal to streamline fund disbursements.
The update comes as the board called on Kenyans who benefitted from the funding in the previous years to repay their loans amid financing shortfalls from the government.
Did govt lower university fees?
In other news, the Ministry of Education announced a reduction in university fees effective September 1, 2025, following public complaints over high costs.
Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala directed all public universities to strictly comply with the revised rates.
The new structure, developed under the Student-Centred Funding Model after consultations with stakeholders, set fees for various programmes such as pre-clinical medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, architecture, and engineering surveying at between KSh 12,960 and KSh 75,000 per semester.
Fees for business, education, and economics degrees will range from KSh 7,525 to KSh 10,101.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
