Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) borrowings are set to hit a record high as the 487,851 candidates who sat for the KCSE exam last year,...
Helb said it expects to receive more than the 110,000 applications it received last year, out of which only 44,000 students benefited from its college loans. “This (the new lot of students) is expected to put more pressure on us. We are lobbying the National Assembly for more funds,” Helb chief executive Charles Ringera said in an interview with the /Business Daily/. The agency has asked the Treasury to double its 2015/6 allocations to Sh9.3 billion, up from Sh4 billion received in the current fiscal year, to enable it finance the high number of KCSE finalists.
Helb said the funding gap is exacerbated by the fact that the 2014 KCSE graduates will be joining universities starting september this year, under the government’s accelerated admissions programme. “This means we urgently need the cash so we can plan ahead,” Mr Ringera said. FPE, a signature project of the Kibaki’s administration, has improved access to universal education. Mr Ringera said the Sh9.3 billion request in addition to the Sh3.3 billion from loan recoveries, will give the revolving fund a Sh12.6 billion warchest—enough to fund 80,000 university freshers.
Demand for Helb loans has soared due to increased access to higher education as witnessed by the growing university enrolment and
establishment of new institutions. Public universities admitted 53,010 freshmen last year compared to 24,221 in 2010. Nearly a third or 123,365 candidates obtained the minimum university entry qualification of C+ in the 2013 KCSE, presenting a funding nightmare for Helb. Helb has since extended its loan programme— initially meant for government-sponsored students — to self-sponsored programmes and technical and vocational education and training institutions.
SOURCE>>> BUSINESS DAILY