The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is dangling a major incentive in front of thousands of defaulters to pay off their loan balance completely, and the board will wipe out 80 percent of the penalties piled on top.
HELB rolled out the offer in a statement issued on August 13, essentially handing chronic defaulters a way out of debt that’s been growing for years.
“Settle your HELB loan balance in full and enjoy up to 80% waiver on outstanding penalties. This is your opportunity to clear your balance and take the first step towards financial freedom,” the board said.
The catch is straightforward, and there’s no partial-payment version of this deal. Borrowers have to clear the entire outstanding balance first, and only then does the 80 per cent penalty cut kick in.
Board figures show more than 380,000 beneficiaries have defaulted on their loans across the country, with a combined debt sitting at close to Ksh42 billion. Of those, over 120,000 have already had their names forwarded to Credit Reference Bureaus.
Every missed instalment attracts a Ksh5,000 monthly penalty, which means balances can balloon fast for borrowers who fall behind.
There are consequences beyond the fines, too; getting listed with a CRB can shut people out of loans, mortgages and other financial products for years and sometimes long after the original debt would have been manageable.
HELB has also made it clear it isn’t done chasing defaulters; the board has repeatedly threatened to publish names and photos of habitual non-payers in newspapers, and says it’s working with employers and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to track down borrowers who haven’t been paying, including those working informally.
How Borrowers Can Repay
HELB has kept the repayment process fairly simple, with a few different channels available depending on what’s convenient.
The quickest is probably the USSD route by dialing *642#, logging in, selecting loan repayment, and paying through mobile money.
There’s also the HELB Mobile App, where borrowers log in, confirm their phone number and the amount they owe, then enter their mobile money PIN to complete the transaction.
For those who prefer to do it online, the Loanee Self-Serve Portal at www.hef.co.ke allows borrowers to select a loan repayment, enter the amount, confirm the transaction, and choose a payment method.
One thing HELB is keen to stress is that once a loan is fully paid off, borrowers still need to get official clearance directly from the board. Employers can’t confirm a loan has been settled; that confirmation only comes from HELB itself.
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