HELB Warns as 290,000 Kenyans Default on Ksh29 Billion Loans
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The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has raised concern over the growing number of beneficiaries who have failed to repay student loans amounting to Ksh29 billion.
Speaking on Thursday, August 20, HELB CEO Geoffrey Monari said about 290,000 beneficiaries were yet to repay their loans, warning that failure to recover the funds could undermine the board’s ability to support students currently seeking financial assistance.
He said the Ksh29 billion owed by former beneficiaries could have been used to support about 48,000 students to complete their higher education.
Monari stressed that students who have completed their studies are required to begin repaying their loans, noting that the funds are essential in supporting other students pursuing higher education.
"We urge students who have not commenced repaying their loans to start repaying their loans. It is important because the money that we are getting from these students is what we will be able to use to support the current students who are in the university," he said.
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Monari explained that HELB operates a revolving fund, meaning repayments from former beneficiaries are used to finance students who currently require financial assistance.
"This is a revolving fund, and therefore past beneficiaries should be able to repay their loans so that we can be able to pay for the current students," he added.
Elsewhere, this comes days after a Pwani University student received Ksh55,200 in upkeep funds from HELB following the intervention of the Commission.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 13, the Office of the Ombudsman said the student had complained to the Commission over a delay in the processing of her HELB student loan.
She told the Commission that she was a government-sponsored student at Pwani University and had applied for HELB funding in August 2025 to support her tuition and upkeep.
The Commission said HELB had processed the student's tuition funding but failed to process her upkeep allocation, prompting her to seek its intervention.
"While HELB processed her tuition funding, it did not process her upkeep allocation, prompting her to seek the intervention of the Commission," the statement read.
Following the complaint, the Commission took up the matter with HELB through an inquiry dated May 11, 2026.
In its response dated June 26, 2026, HELB confirmed that the student was a bona fide government-sponsored student.
The Board, however, explained that the student's initial application had identified her as a self-sponsored student, resulting in the award of tuition funding only.
"However, at the time of submitting her application, she had indicated that she was a self-sponsored student and was consequently awarded tuition fees amounting to Ksh90,301.80 only," the statement added.
HELB subsequently advised the student to correct her details on the Higher Education Financing Student Portal so that her application accurately reflected her status as a government-sponsored student.
"The Board advised Ms. W.N.M. to update her details on the Higher Education Financing Student Portal to accurately reflect her status as a government-sponsored student, which she subsequently did," the statement further read.
After the student's details were updated, HELB disbursed an additional Ksh55,200 upkeep allocation to her, resolving the complaint that had been lodged with the Commission.
Reporting originally appeared via Nairobi Leo. Read the full source for additional context.