More Suffering To Students As HELB Is Yet To Disburse Loans

By Getrude Mathayo / Published September 15, 2023 | 11:49 am

University students will have to wait a little bit longer for loans as the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has yet to release funds to both new and continuing students in institutions of higher learning.

According to HELB CEO Charles Ringera, the Ministry of Education is following up on the disbursement, even as new-year students continue with the process of applying for funding, which will close on October 7.

“We are still following up with the Ministry, which is also following up with the Treasury for the release of funds, and as of now we have not released any money to continuing students or the ones coming in for the first time,” said Ringera

Higher Education Principal Secretary, Dr Beatrice Inyangala urged university students to report institutions demanding for 7 percent payment of fees before admission.

“We have received messages from Vice Chancellors confirming that they are not demanding for the 7 percent. So far, the information we have received is from students and the vice-chancellors have categorically denied that they requested for 7 percent,” she explained.

She added that they encourage every student who has been asked to pay the 7 percent to come to her office with the evidence and he is going to engage with the Vice Chancellors immediately based on the facts. Inyangala assured that the Government has released an enhanced capitation to cater to continuing students and to also allow operations to run uninterrupted.

“They requested an enhanced three-month capitation to help them keep operational while we are processing the funds for the first years. So, we are continuously engaging Vice Chancellors and we are supporting them,” Inyangala assured.

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On the other hand, HELB has advised students whose applications for government scholarships have been rejected that they still have a chance to get the funding.

On September 14^th, HELB released a statement inviting students to file appeals, to allow them another chance to secure much-needed finances for their higher education.

The Universities Fund the decision to deny students the scholarships could be due to several reasons including; an oversight or by mistake on the part of the government officials. HELB explained that even students who got less money than what they expected could ask the government to review the offer upwards or downwards.

“An individual may appeal or request a review of their Government Student Scholarships award if they were not satisfied with the amount given. This includes unsuccessful scholarship applications,” the Universities Fund explained in a statement.

How To Appeal