Background Information of HELB (HIGHER EDUCATION LOANS BOARD)
The Higher Education Loans Board, HELB, is a financier of higher
education in Kenya. It was established by an Act of Parliament (Cap 213A) in
1995 as state Corporation under the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology.
Responsibilities and Objectives
The mandate of the Board is to disburse loans, bursaries and
scholarship to students pursuing higher education in recognized institution. HELB
provides affordable LOANS, bursaries and scholarship to Kenyans pursuing higher
education. In addition, the Board is empowered to recover all outstanding loans
given to former university students by the GoK since 1952 through HELF and to
establish a Revolving Fund from which funds can be drawn to lend out to needy
Kenyan students pursuing higher education.
The Board’s objective is to give financial support
to NEEDY Kenyan students ( Undergraduate and Post-graduate students ) in
institutions of higher learning both locally and abroad. However, due to
financial constraints, it is currently not in a position to provide loans to
students studying outside the country. This includes self-sponsored students
and government sponsored students who are admitted to public universities
through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service ( Kuccps).
The board awards the loan to the following
categories of students:
a.Diploma and Certificate Students
Students
pursuing Diploma and Certificate courses in Public universities, university colleges, public national polytechnics andInstitutes of Technology and Technical Training institutes country-wide are eligible for TVET loan and bursary. Orphans, single parent students and others who come from poor backgrounds will be given priority for the loans and or bursaries. The application period is January to April every year.
b.Undergraduate Government or self Sponsored Students
Students pursuing undergraduate programmees in Public universities and university colleges are
eligible to apply for Direct Entry
Students Loans. These loans are for students joining public or private
universities/colleges within the East African Community directly from high
school either through the KUCCPS or as self-sponsored.
c. Post Graduate stsudents
HELB awards scholarships to
postgraduate students pursuing their Masters or Doctoral studies. The award is
based on academic merit. Scholarships are allocated to universities every year,
based on the population of their student. The application period is April to
July every year and the beneficiaries are announced before the beginning
of the academic year in September. Applicants are required to pay a processing
fee of kshs 3,000
HELB Application Basic Requirements
Applicants are required to have the following
credentials before applying for HELB loan:
- A
Copy of your National Identification card. HELB uses your ID No to
identify an applicant. You will also use your national Id No when creating
an account.
- A
valid bank account. Students who qualify
for loan awards will have their personal bank accounts credited before the
beginning of each Semester. Students are advised to open accounts in the
following collaborating banks:
- Kenya Commercial Bank
- National Bank of Kenya
- Kenya Post Office Savings
Bank (Postbank)
- Cooperative Bank of Kenya
- Equity Bank.
- KRA
pin from the Kenya Revenue Authority. The Pin helps the board to track its
loanee’s. It is therefore an important element in the application process.
- Your
Parent (s)/ guardian particulars. This includes his* name, marital
status, level of education, source of income, employee details, current
pay slip and employee No. (If employed).
- Your
Parents Death certificate( If not existing).
- Copy of letter
of admission to the university/college.
- Copies of two guarantors’ ID’s.
- Three Recent
colored passport size photograph
The Higher Education Loans Board, HELB, is a financier of higher education in Kenya. The mandate of the Board is to disburse loans, bursaries
and scholarship to students pursuing higher education in recognized institution. HELB awards loans to certificate, diploma,
bachelors and post graduate students.
HELB Loan Application Announcement
HELB places advertisements in the print media in which it
invites applications for loans. Applications are usually received in the last
quarter of the year (i.e. between October and December). The Board maintains a
deadline and those applications received after the deadline without justifiable
reasons are not processed.
HELB Loan Requirements
Applicants are
required to have the following:
- Copy of your national
ID.
- A Valid bank account.
- KRA PIN No
- Parent (s)/ gurdain particulars
- Parent(s) death
certificate. ( if not existing)
- Copy of letter of
admission to the university/college.
- Copies of two guarantors’
ID’s.
- Three Recent colored
passport size photograph
Application Process
The process of loan
application is usually done online following the procedure outline below:
- Log onto HELB portal
by following this link: helb loan application portal
- Click create account
to create your account profile with HELB.
iii. While still logged in,
go to the home page and click ‘fill the application form correctly’.
- Fill in the form
carefully and make sure you save each and every step.
- Go back to the home
page and click ‘view application history’ to confirm you have filled everything
correctly. (This page is not for printing)
- Go back home and click
the ‘print form’ icon to get your hard copy documents.
vii. Applicants are then
required to take the printed form to their local pastor, area sub-chief and a
lawyer who confirms that the information submitted is accurate.
viii. The duly filled form
is then submitted to HELB offices.
NOTE: The forms must be filled with accurate and
truthful information. Be warned that students who obtain loans through
misrepresentation of facts might be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Filling the Application Form
The Online loan application form is divide into the following 3 stages.
STAGE 1: APPLICANT DETAILS (Main Tab)
This comprises of three sub categories as elaborated below. You are required to fill each section before proceeding to the next item.
- a) Step 1 of 3: Applicant:- Personal
Details In this section, an applicant is required to fill out there
personal information. Items such as Sub-location,Division,location etc
should reflect information as per your National Identification Card.
- b) Step 2 of 3: Applicant:- Residence
Details In this section, an applicant is required to fill out there
current place of residence information. Items such as
Sub-location,Division,location etc should reflect your current place of
residence and not as indicated in your ID Card.
- c) Step 3 of 3: Applicant:- University
& Loan Details In this section, an applicant is required to fill
out there university and loan details.Specify how much loan you require
and in case you need bursary this is the section to tick on
STAGE 2: PARENTS DETAILS (Main Tab) This comprises of four sub sections as elaborated below. You are required to fill each section before proceeding to the next item.
- a) Step 1 of 4: Parents/Guardian details –
Parents Marital Status In this section, an applicant is required to
fill out there parents marital information. Please specify whether you
are an orphan or from a single parent. If either parent is deceased you
will be required to provide details of their death certificates and
attach certified copies of the same.
- b) Step 2 of 4: Parents/Guardian details –
Father details. This section is mandatory, if your father is alive.
If you specify on the option NOT ALIVE, you wont be required to fill the
details of your father.
- c) Step 3 of 4: Parents/Guardian details –
Mother details. This section is mandatory, if your Mother is alive.
If you specify on the option NOT ALIVE, you wont be required to fill the
details of your Mother.
- d) Step 4 of 4: Parents/Guardian details –
Family Expense Details In this section, an applicant is required to
fill out there family expense This
includes items such as food,clothing,rent etc. Please enter numeric
values only without special characters or commas e.g. 5000 not 5,000.
STAGE 3: EDUCATION DETAILS (Main Tab)
This section has no sub-sections. You
will only be required to fill your education details on the form capturing Primary,
Secondary and any other enrollment after that.
Helb Loan Ammount Awarded
In accordance with the current cost sharing
policy, a government sponsored student is required to pay approx. Kshs.30,000/-
per year to train at a public university. Out of this amount, HELB can award a
maximum loan of Kshs 60,000 and a bursary
worthy Kshs.8,000. The board currently gives
a minimum of Khs 35,000. The amount awarded is based on the level of need.
The Board awards doctoral students an
average of Kshs. 150,000 per year while Masters students receive Kshs.80,000/=
[for humanities] and Kshs. 100,000 [for science based subjects]. The loans for post graduate students are
advertised in June every year and the beneficiaries are announced before the
beginning of the academic year in September.
Undergraduate Bursaries
HELB awards bursaries to extremely
needy undergraduate students who benefit from loans for direct entry. Orphans,
students from single parent families and others who come from poor backgrounds
will be given priority for the bursaries. There is no separate application for
this bursary but qualification for it depends on the information provided on
the direct entry form.
Loan Disbursement
HELB releases loan results before the new academic year starts.
Students who qualify
for loan awards will have their personal bank accounts credited before the
beginning of each Semester.
Students who fail to secure a loan or are awarded inadequate
amounts are encouraged to appeal. Each appeal is reviewed on its own merit. An
applicant may fail to get a loan because of the following reasons:
- The student may not
have provided adequate information about himself /herself as requested.
- The students may have
provided false information on the loan application form.
Management of HELB loans
Students are advised that the loans should be used mainly for:
- Tuition,
- Books and stationery
- Accommodation and subsistence.
Students are advised to desist from diverting the funds to
leisure or other family obligations.
Repaying your Loan
Undergraduate loan repayment starts within one year of
completion of studies or within such a period as the Board decides to recall
the loan whichever is earlier. However, you can make voluntary payments before
or after you complete your studies to reduce your loan balance.
The loan attracts interest of 4% p.a
and the students are required to repay their loans after one year of completion
of their studies. Loan defaulters are penalized.
For each month that remains unpaid, a lonee is penalized a fine of not less
than five thousand shillings.
If you die before clearing the loan, HELB can waive the loan upon request from your
next of kin.
A certificate of clearance is given to beneficiaries who have
cleared their loan.