HELB Gives New Directive To Students On How To Update National ID On HEF
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has released new instructions for students who applied for university and college funding while still minors, explaining how to add their National ID details to their accounts once they turn 18, without needing to start a new registration.
The guidance is aimed at students who signed up on the Higher Education Fund (HEF) portal using their KCSE index numbers, simply because they were too young to hold a National ID at the time they applied.
It’s a common situation: plenty of students finish high school before their 18th birthday, so they end up applying for funding with their index number well before their ID card is ready.
According to HELB, these students don’t need to open a fresh account once they get their ID. Instead, they should log back into the same HEF account they created. A pop-up will appear asking them to update their National ID information.
From there, the process is fairly straightforward. Students enter their ID number along with their first name, making sure both match exactly what’s printed on the card, then hit “Validate.”
Once the system confirms the details are correct, a second pop-up appears verifying that the update went through. The final step is clicking the “Register” tab to wrap things up.
HELB was firm on one point in particular: students should not, under any circumstances, create a second HEF account after getting their National ID. The only thing that needs to happen is updating the original account tied to their KCSE index number.
The board says this step matters for keeping student records accurate and making sure funding access isn’t disrupted down the line.
This advisory lands at a time when the government is working on broader changes to how higher education is financed. The Tertiary Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, is currently making its way through Parliament, and if passed, it would create a new body called the Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA).
That authority would essentially merge HELB, the Universities Fund and the TVET Fund into a single institution handling funding for university, college and TVET students alike.
The idea behind the merger is to simplify what’s currently a fairly fragmented funding landscape, with the broader goal of making tertiary education more affordable and easier to access nationwide.
For now, HELB’s message to affected students is simple: as soon as you get your National ID, log into your existing HEF account and update your details; don’t wait, and don’t open a new one.
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