With only seven days to go 40, 000 university students are yet to apply for loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and government scholarships under the new funding model.
The first-year students who are set for joining on September 7 are yet to apply for government assistance to meet their tuition fees.
On Tuesday, the Cabinet scrapped the requirement of national identification cards for students applying for HELB loans.
“Cabinet waived the requirement for national identity cards for students who have not attained the age of 18 and the Ministry of Education, jointly with all stakeholders, will fast-track access to scholarships for all eligible students,” read a Cabinet dispatch.
Students joining universities will from next month get HELB loans of between 18 percent and 55 percent of the tuition costs, with State scholarships topping the remaining amount.
Those joining Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVETs) will get HELB loans of between 20 percent and 48 percent of the tuition costs, with the rest being raised from State scholarships based on their need level.
Upkeep loans for the freshmen joining universities range from Ksh45,000 to Ksh60,000 based on their level of need and Ksh13,000 for those joining TVET colleges.
Previously, students who joined the university at the age below 18 years were not eligible for HELB loans.
University Fund Chief Executive Geoffrey Monari said they were hopeful to capture all students who need financial assistance.
“We would have captured more students were it not for the power outage we experienced last week,” Monari said.
By Thuita Jaswant
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