HELB waives Ksh 1000 Compliance Certificate Fee For Non-beneficiaries

By Nsunjo Erica

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) through its CEO Charles Ringera waived the Ksh.1, 000 compliance certificate fee for non-beneficiaries, Kenyan youth can now breathe.

The compliance certificate is a requirement for all persons applying for public jobs, as stated in Chapter VI on Leadership and Integrity of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, to enable the institutions to assess them in areas of creditworthiness, social responsibility, and integrity.

Kenyan youth have been wondering how on earth they are being asked to pay a fee to get a certificate for a fund they never enjoyed, they are claiming that waiving is not the right option but refunding all those jobseekers who painfully paid.

“Given the foregoing issues raised by Kenyans, HELB has stopped charging Ksh.1, 000 for issuance of the compliance certificate with effect from July 15, 2020,” stated Mr. Ringera.

HELB CEO Charles Ringera said the fee was found to be punitive especially to the unemployed youth who were not beneficiaries of the student loans but having to painfully incur the payment.

“HELB has been issuing compliance certificates to non-beneficiaries of student loans at a fee of Ksh. 1,000 to defray the cost of the certificate and other administrative expenses,” HELB said in a notice.

According to Mr. Ringera, the fee has been waived following unemployment and under-employment challenges, slow economic growth, and escalated cost of living being faced by Kenyan youths today.

Mr. Ringera adds that retrenchment and downsizing affecting all sectors which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic is another reason to why the fee has been waived.

HELB CEO further stated that the fee was a move aimed at motivating Kenyan youth to seek jobs and opportunities to contribute towards nation-building as well as to create goodwill and promotion of HELB products among Kenyans.

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