Helb reverts to old model payment for first, second year students
Students apply for Helb loans in Nairobi in September 2014. Over 69,000 students who are set to join university have not applied for funding from the government.
What you need to know:
- The Helb announcement came after a section of students from the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University stormed the board’s headquarters at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi as they demanded the release of their funding.
- The students said delays in disbursement of the funds had adversely affected the first and second years, with many being out of campus.
The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) says it will fund first and second-year university students using the old model as it awaits a decision on appeal against the High Court suspension of the new funding model.
This means the affected two groups will be funded using the differentiated unit cost model through which their third and fourth-year counterparts are financed.
The government introduced a new funding model in 2023 in an attempt to try to address the spiraling costs of university education, but almost immediately it became contentious, with several parties raising concerns about the model's equity and how it would affect students.
A petition was lodged in the High Court by the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the Elimu Bora Working Group, the Students Caucus, and Boaz Waruku seeking to have the model quashed, arguing that it was unlawful and was implemented without proper public participation.
On December 20, 2024, the High Court declared the new funding model unconstitutional, ruling that it was discriminatory and failed to adequately address the needs of students.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, Helb, and Trustees of the Universities Fund have appealed against the court decision, seeking to reinstate the new model. The appeal is pending a hearing.
The Helb announcement came after a section of students from the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University stormed the board’s headquarters at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi as they demanded the release of their funding.
The students said delays in disbursement of the funds had adversely affected the first and second years, with many being out of campus.
Responding to the grievances, Helb Lending Manager King'ori Ndegwa said that some money totaling Sh3.1 billion had been released and that only about 180,000 students had yet to receive their funding.
Elsewhere, the exam that had been scheduled to take place at the Technical University of Kenya on Monday morning failed to kick off after striking staff rejected the vice chancellor's call to administer the tests.
The lecturers are demanding payment of their salary arrears dating back to December 2024. Some TUK students joined their striking staff in demonstrations, asking the Ministry of Education to release funds to the staff.