Govt awards HELB loans to 136,634 university students in New Funding Model

Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba, via communiqués, announced HELB loans for 136,000+ first-year students and capped semester fees.

Today, August 15, 2025, in Nairobi, Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Migos Ogamba issued official communiqués to the press.

The first of these announced the award of Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loans to 136,634 eligible first-time university applicants under the Student-Centred Funding Model for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Mr. Ogamba stated that the move reaffirms the government’s commitment to ensuring that no qualified student is denied access to higher education due to financial hardship.

“As of 15th August 2025, the Higher Education Loans Board has awarded loans to 136,634 eligible university first-time applicants.”

He outlined that, in line with the government’s directive to lower the cost of university education, semester fees will now range from Ksh 5,814 to Ksh 75,000, depending on the student’s level of need and the price of the course.

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“The university fees payable by students per semester will range from a minimum student contribution of Ksh 5,814 to a maximum of Ksh 75,000.”

Ogamba instructed all loan applicants to confirm their upkeep loan award status via the Higher Education Financing website and coordinate with their respective university administration offices for payment schedules.

“All students who have submitted their loan applications are advised to confirm their upkeep loan award status from the HELB student portal in the Higher Education Financing website.”

He also instructed all universities across the country to access tuition loan allocations through the HELB institutional portal.

“This progress reaffirms the Government’s commitment to quality and equitable access to higher education, ensuring that no qualified student is left behind in their pursuit of university studies due to financial constraints.”

While the other two communiqués addressed separate issues in the education sector, this first statement focused squarely on funding reforms and affordability.

By Joseph Mambili

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