Tighten your belts please, HELB Loans to be Delayed.

More than 50,000 students joining university this year will go for nearly two months without government sponsorship following delays in disbursing higher education loan funds by the Treasury.

Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), the agency charged with disbursing the loans to students, Thursday said the Treasury had indicated that the extra funds needed to fully finance the scheme would be released in November.

Helb last month applied for additional Sh2 billion from the Treasury, saying the money is needed to avert a looming funding crisis.

The student loans agency says that with the additional Sh2 billion it will be able to finance new and continuing students but the earliest that could happen is in November.

That means freshmen, who are expected to begin their studies in September will have a tough time settling on campus without the funds to register for courses and for personal upkeep.

“We will start receiving loan applications next month, process them in October and disburse the funds in November,” said Charles Ringera, the Helb chief executive officer.

Mr Ringera said that the agency had, under the supplementary budget 2, applied for Sh2 billion and that processing of the same was at an advanced stage.

Freshmen in public universities pay tuition fees of between Sh30,000 and Sh45,000 for the first year. The money also covers medical, registration, activity and computer lab fees.

It does not, however, include meals, housing and personal upkeep, which are critical to the survival on campus for thousands of needy students.
University hostels charge students on average Sh3,000 per semester while private hostels charge as much as Sh7,000 per semester.

With university admissions hitting record highs, accommodation has become difficult to get in many universities especially because the few available spaces on campus are allocated on admission day to those who are ready to pay for it.

READ: Helb to raise varsity loans ceiling in World Bank deal

Kenyatta University last year admitted students on September 9 while Maseno University admitted its lot a week earlier, making disbursement of funds in November a two-month wait.

Maseno University has put up a notice warning students (continuing and new) that failure to pay fees may get them locked out of classes and hostels.

“All students are expected to pay full fees on registration. Accommodation will be on first-come-first-served basis, upon full payment of university fees,” reads the university circular.

Helb is expected to open a three-month-long loan application process in August for both continuing and new students.

Double trouble

The Higher Education Loans Board has come under great financing strain after public universities conducted a double intake in 2011. More than 50,000 students joining university this year will have to wait two months before they can get government sponsorship through HELB.

2009 - 68,498

2010 - 72,000

2011 - 80,000

2012 - 102,000

2013 - 116,500

Courtesy of Business daily