The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has today launched its strategic plan dubbed HELB Agenda 2019-2023 which is estimated to cost Ksh 90.7 billion.
Speaking today during the launch of the agenda as well as ISO 9001:2015 certification for efficient customer service delivery, Cabinet Secretary for Education Amb. Amina Mohamed stated that the ministry is focusing on reforming the education sector to ensure alignment with global, continental regional and education goals.
“We are currently reviewing the higher education financing policy to make funding more predictable and sustainable by improving quality university education, conceptualizing a funding that ensures equity and fairness as well as optimizing good governance, management and institutional structures, “she added.
The HELB annual student budget, the CS explained has grown from Ksh 4.6 billion financing 109,189 students in 2012 to Ksh 11.4 billion financing 248,050 students in 2017-2018, a total of 53 percent of which is funded by exchequer while 47 percent from loan recovery.
She called upon employers to enhance loan recovery mechanisms to track over 74,000 defaulters holding over Ksh 7.2 billion as at 31st December 2018 to improve HELB’s performing loan portfolio from the current 72 percent to more than 82 percent by 2023.
“I want to urge all loan beneficiaries to honor the repayment of their debts. We are going to partner with our law enforcement agencies to track down those holding jobs and yet are reluctant to honour their debts”, Amb. Amina said.
This she added will include tracking graduates working in enterprises such as Mobile Transfer services such as MPESA, Airtel Money and other emerging jobs.
The HELB chairman Ekwee Ethuro reiterated that they are making sure the Big Four agenda pillars are factored in the strategy to ensure that there is provision of adequate resources and quality education to all Kenyans.
“We think that HELB is in a better position to centralize distribution of all funding to students in institutions of higher learning whether in form of grants, County bursaries, scholarship or even corporates who fund students as part of their corporate social responsibility and this should be channeled through a centralized mechanism such as HELB,” said Ethuro.
HELB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charles Ringera said that more than 820,000 students’ dreams have been empowered for the last 24 years.
HELB has so far empowered the dreams of more than 820,000 students and disbursed over 90 Billion Kenya Shillings. As at 31st December, 2018, 436,832 loan accounts worth Ksh. 52.1billion had matured for repayment, while 383,150 loanees holding Ksh. 37.2 Billion had not matured”, he explained.
Ringera further said that a total of 213,067 loanees had cleared their loans worth Kshs. 21.3billion while a further 153,817 accounts valued at Kshs. 24.0billion are repaying their loans.
“70,008 loanees holding Kshs. 6.8B are in default while loan portfolio is performing at 70 percent.
The five year strategy has been defined as Universal financing for Kenyans pursuing Higher Education with the vision to provide sustainable finance to all Kenyans with an overall promise of empowering dreams.
Sustainable financing initiatives, governance, compliance and customer centered leadership are the pillars in the strategic plan.