The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) disbursed Sh 26.1 billion to 322,338 university students in the 2024/2025 financial year, according to its latest report on student financing.
During the 2024/2025 fiscal year, 713,173 students applied for the education loan; however, 103,214 eligible applicants missed out on the financial support due to a funding shortfall of Sh11.5 billion.
For Technical Vocational Education Training Institutes (TVETs) students, HELB disbursed Sh7.9 billion to 225,048 beneficiaries, while 60,274 eligible trainees missed out on funding due to a Sh2.2 billion shortfall, highlighting growing demand against constrained resources in the country’s higher education sector.
Additionally, 37,125 needy students across both universities and TVET institutions were awarded bursaries totalling Sh237 million.
HELB also issued postgraduate scholarships worth Sh31.3 million to 104 students and supported 2,195 salaried learners through the Jielimishe Loan Programme, with disbursements of Sh355 million.
The financial strain facing HELB continues to raise concerns about the sustainability of government student financing even after the rollout of the new university funding model and rising enrolment numbers.
To mitigate delays in loan disbursement, HELB says it is actively engaging with the National Treasury to ensure timely release of capitation in line with the approved disbursement schedule.
The Student Centred Funding Model [SCFM] was unveiled by President William Ruto in May 2023 to address the challenges that public universities and TVET colleges were facing, primarily attributed to massive enrolment and inadequate funding.
