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Helb turns to new strategies to trace Sh32bn owed by 256,000 defaulters
Higher Education Loans Board Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari on May 14, 2025.
The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) is engaging employers, reaching out to past beneficiaries, introducing smarter policies, and enforcing stronger accountability in a fresh push to recover Sh32 billion from 256,000 defaulters.
According to Helb CEO Geoffrey Monari, as of June 30, 2025, 32.5 per cent of Helb's loan portfolio was in default.
He noted that since 1974, the government has disbursed Sh179 billion to more than 1.7 million Kenyans, with 67.5 percent of loans performing.
“As of June 30, 2025, 67.5 per cent of the loan book was performing. Yes, 32.5 percent of the portfolio remains at risk, with about 256,000 Kenyans holding Sh32 billion in default.
"But we’re not sitting back. We’re tackling this through employer engagement, outreach to past beneficiaries of the scheme, smarter policies, and stronger accountability,” Mr Monari wrote in a social media post.
He added: “If you pay your loan in a lump sum, you get an 80 per cent penalty waiver. It is a meaningful step toward encouraging repayment and easing the burden. We’re confident that, together, we can turn this around.”
The Helb boss revealed that the agency has so far mobilised Sh3.3 billion from 43 partners, including county governments, corporates, and development agencies. The agency is also exploring innovative funding models such as social bonds and crowdfunding.
“We’ve mobilised Sh3.3 billion from 43 partners, including counties, corporates, and development partners. And we’re exploring new models like social bonds and crowdfunding,
Further he defended the sweeping reforms to Kenya’s higher education funding system, calling them “fair, data-driven, and built to last” despite initial fears and resistance.
Mr Monari admitted that the changes were not always well explained to the public.
“It’s clear that perhaps we could have done more to bring Kenyans along with us. We could have better explained why these changes were necessary, what state our universities were in, and what kind of future we’re working toward. We didn’t paint a clear picture of the storm we were trying to steer out of. Or why these reforms were so urgent,” he said.
The new model replaces the old flat-rate system with a needs-based approach that assigns students to one of five financial bands based on a revamped Means Testing Instrument (MTI).
The tool uses 12 socio-economic indicators, including household income, parental occupation, number of dependents, orphan status, location, and disability.
“The most important shift? Support now follows actual need, not assumptions. If you’re in Band 1, you get 95 per cent of your education costs covered — 70 per cent as a scholarship and 25 percent as a loan — plus an upkeep loan of Sh60,000 a year.
"Students in Band 5 get 30 percent as a scholarship, another 30 per cent as a loan, and an upkeep loan of Sh40,000. We are digitising and modernising the MTI to reflect today’s Kenya — not 1997’s,” Mr Monari said.
In the 2024/2025 financial year, the CEO said Helb disbursed Sh36.5 billion in loans and Sh16.9 billion in scholarships to 702,000 learners. Since 1974, the government has disbursed Sh179 billion to over 1.7 million Kenyans.
“In the 2024/25 financial year, we allocated Sh36.5 billion in student loans and Sh16.9 billion in scholarships. By June 2025, the entire Sh.53.4 billion had been disbursed to 702,000 learners. Yes, there’s still a funding gap—and we’re actively engaging the National Treasury and our partners to close it. But the progress so far? It’s real, and it’s something to be proud of,” he said.
“The CEO acknowledged that implementing change in the sector has been difficult but argued that the old model was unsustainable.
“We are no longer funding in the dark. We are no longer pretending all students are the same. We are no longer imagining that universities can survive on broken promises,” he said. “This model gives us a chance to promote equity, to protect the poor, to reward merit, to rebuild public trust, and to sustain quality,” he said.
Mr Monari urged all stakeholders to back the changes, warning that returning to the old funding system would jeopardise the future of higher education.
“Now more than ever, we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand or remain stuck in systems that no longer serve us. To do so is to jeopardise the future of higher education in Kenya and the generations that depend on it,” he said.
