By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has opened its portal for the first-time loan application under the new funding model.
HELB in a statement on its social media pages on Friday, June 21, 2024, said students joining university and technical education training institutions for the 2024/2025 financial year can now apply for funding.
“Are you a first-time applicant? The New Funding Model loans and scholarships are here to fuel your dream. Applications are now open,” the board said in a statement on their Facebook page.
The HELB funding under the new model is either through a scholarship or loan application.
Students admitted to universities and TVET trainees in TVET institutions under the Ministry of Education are the only ones eligible for the first-time applications.
Requirements for first-time undergraduate and TVET scholarship and loan application include a valid email address and mobile phone number, KCPE and KCSE index numbers and year of examination, passport size photo, copy of national ID, valid bank details or MPESA number, birth certificate and copy of the sponsorship letter for the students sponsored in secondary school.
Applicants also need to provide their parents’ national ID cards and their mobile numbers as well as two guarantors’ IDs and their mobile phone numbers.
The government introduced a new education funding model which it said was aimed at making higher education more accessible and affordable for students from vulnerable and needy households.
The model, announced in May 2023 by President William Ruto provides scholarships, loans, and bursaries to students based on their financial needs.
Under the new model, the government will use a Means Testing Instrument (MTI) to determine the level of financial need for each student. The instrument will consider factors such as family socio-economic background, affirmative action, and household composition/size.
Vulnerable and extremely needy students will not pay fees, while those from needy households will contribute 7% of the course cost. Students from less needy households will receive loans and scholarships based on their financial needs.