More than half a million of university and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students eligible for funding by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) in the 2024/25 financial year did not receive any money due to a budget shortfall.
HELB Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari told the National Assembly Committee on Education that some 713,173 students applied for financial assistance during the period, with a total funding requirement of Sh48.18 billion.
However, HELB only disbursed Sh26.1 billion to 322,338 university students, leaving 103,214 eligible students unfunded due to a Sh11.5 billion shortfall.
For TVET trainees, Sh7.9 billion was disbursed to 225,048 students, but 60,274 applicants missed out, creating an additional gap of Sh2.2 billion.
