NARIBORI– You risk being negatively listed with the credit reference bureau’s (CRB) if you are not up to date with your repayment of Higher Education Laons Board (HELB) loans.
During a conference Wednesday May 19, HELB CEO Charles Ringera said over 85,000 kenyans owed the institution Ksh9.5 billion in upaid loans.
According to the HELB Act, a penalty of Ksh5,000 per month is charge every month an individual fails to repay his loan.
HELB begins imposing these penalties a year after one graduates and according to the boards communication director Wavi Muigai, individuals are listed with CRB if they default in payment for six consecutive months.
HELB is a statutory body that was established in July 1995 by the ‘Higher Education Loans Board Act’ Cap 213A under the Ministry of Education.
Its aim was to provide affordable study loans to students pursuing Higher Education by ensuring enough resources and mobilized and prudently used.
According to the HELB website, the state corporation has disbured over Ksh115 Billion to over 1 million Kenyans.
Apart from the loans, HELB also offer undergraduate and post graduate scholarships to students in Kenya and this has been made possible through partnerships with Absa Bank that sponsors 20 students per year and Visa Oshwal Aid that also sponsors 20 students. These sponsorships run for the total tenure of study.
HELB loan is also currently available to students in private institutions as well as TVET colleges.
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