HELB FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General Questions
- Q: Who is eligible for HELB loans?
- A: Undergraduate Students,Postgraduate Students
- Q: No Query Response
- A:
1. Access the HELB website http://www.helb.co.ke/helb_repayment_status.htmland enter your ID number
2. Send an email to requesting for your statement to repayments@helb.co.ke.
3. Send an SMS to XXXXXX

- Q: How can I repay my loan?
- A:
1. By depositing cash or cheque into the HELB collection accounts
2. By direct debit
3. By credit card
4. By a standing order through your credit card

Note: Details on how to execute the above can be obtained from the loan repayment information section of the HELB we
- Q: How do I receive my completion certificate?
- A:
1. Send an email to requesting for your statement to certificates@helb.co.ke
2. Call Imelda Maroko on 020 246890-1
- Q: How do I forward a query to HELB
- A:
1. Download the enquiry form from the HELB website:- http://www.helb.co.ke/HELBENQUIRYFORM.pdf, fill it out and email it to enquiries@helb.co.ke.

2. Access the HELB websitehttp://www.helb.co.ke/helb_repayment_status.html and enter your ID number to obtain the name of your account manager and call him/her on 246590-1

 Undergraduate Students:

The Board’s objective is to give financial support to needy Kenyan students in institutions of higher learning both locally and abroad. However, due to financial constraints, it is currently not in a position to provide loans to students studying outside the country and those on self sponsored programmes (commonly known as the ‘parallel programmes’). Therefore, at the moment, it gives loans to the following category of students

Needy Kenyan students who are admitted to public universities through the Joint Admissions Board and to those attending private chartered universities.

- Q: How much loan can one get?

- A: In accordance with the current cost sharing policy, a student is required to pay Kshs.50,000/- per year to train at a public university. Out of this amount, HELB can award a maximum loan and bursary of Kshs.55,000/- and Kshs.8,000 respectively.

- Q: How much loan can one get?

- A:
1. Access the HELB website http://www.helb.co.ke/helb_repayment_status.htmland enter your ID number
2. Send an email to requesting for your statement to repayments@helb.co.ke.
3. Send an SMS to XXXXXX

- Q: When can one apply for a HELB loan?

- A:
HELB places advertisements in the print media in which it invites applications for loans. Applications are usually received in the last quarter of the year (i.e. between October and December).

The Board maintains a deadline and those applications received after the deadline without justifiable reasons are not processed.

- Q: When are loan awards released?

- A:
HELB releases loan results before the new academic year starts. Thereafter, students who fail to secure a loan or are awarded inadequate amounts are encouraged to appeal. Each appeal is reviewed on its own merit.
If one fails to get a loan, the following could be possible reasons:

The student may not have provided adequate information about himself /herself as requested.

The student may have provided false information on the loan application form.

Please be warned that students who obtain loans through misrepresentation of facts will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

How to apply for a loan from HELB?

1- Loan application forms are also obtainable from the District Education Officers for students applying for loans for the first time while continuing students may obtain the forms from the  offices of Registrars or Deans of Students in the various universities

2- The forms must be filled with accurate and truthful information.

3- Duly filled forms should be either hand-deliverd or sent by registered mail to:

HIGHER EDUCATION LOANS BOARD
Anniversary Towers, 18th Floor,
University Way, P.O. Box 69489 00400
Tel: 251877/246590/1, Fax: 252330
Nairobi, Kenya.
Email: helb@helb.co.ke

When are the loans paid to students?

Students who qualify for loan awards will have their accounts credited before the beginning of each Semester. Students are advised to open accounts in the following collaborating banks:

Kenya Commercial Bank   

National Bank of Kenya

Kenya Post Office Savings Bank (Postbank)

Cooperative Bank of Kenya

Equity Bank

 Post Graduate Student Loans:

The Higher Education Loans Board has the responsibility of developing the nation's human capital and ensuring that the nation has a large pool of highly trained and skilled human resource to man the different sectors of the economy, hence this category of loans is based on academic merit rather than financial needs.

To achieve this goal the Board awards loans to about 200 postgraduate students every year i.e. for Masters and Doctoral Studies. Doctoral students are awarded on average Kshs. 150,000 per year while Masters students receive Kshs.80,000/= [for humanities] and Kshs. 100,000 [for science based subjects].The loans are available to students in both public and private chartered universities. The loans are advertised in June every year and the beneficiaries are announced before the beginning of the academic year in September.
A nominal fee of Kshs 2,000 is payable by each applicant.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT LOANS, BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2011/2012

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The Higher Education Loans Board has finalized the disbursement of loans,bursaries and scholarships to university students for the 2011/2012 financial year, and is pleased to publish an analysis of the same for public information.

During the fiscal year 2011/2012, the Board disbursed a total of Kshs.4,810,876,250 to 106,136 Kenyan students pursuing undergraduate and post graduate university education in Kenya and the East African Community countries.


The provision of financial support to Kenyans pursuing higher education is an umbrella responsibility embracing our flagship projects during the 2011/2012 financial year.

Find a complete List of the disbursement Here >>

Welcome to HELB

A welcome article on their website states that the Higher Education Loans Board was established by an Act of Parliament. The statute known as The Higher Education Loans Board Act, 1995 was legally established as Act number 3 of 1995. It came into existence on the 21st day of July 1995 through Kenya Gazette Supplement (Cap 213A).

Since the inception of the Higher Education Loans Board,emphasis has been placed on effective communication and information technology as the pillar underpinning our success.
The HELB board believes in the value of communication.It has transformed the Board from an organization whose operations were largely manual to one that applies modern technology to enhance service delivery. 

The history of the Higher Education Loans Board dates back to 1952 when the then colonial government awarded loans under the then Higher Education Loans Fund [HELF] to Kenyans pursuing university education in universities outside East Africa notably Britain, the USA, the former USSR, India and South Africa.  Students who were pursuing university education in universities outside East Africa and were not on scholarships were advanced loans by the then government against securities such as Land Title Deeds, Insurance policies and Written Guarantees.However by 1974, provision of education in general had expanded dramatically as a result of the heavily subsidized primary and secondary education and the general yearning for education by most Kenyan families. Consequently, the number of students seeking university education had grown to an extent that it was becoming increasingly difficult to adequately finance university education by providing full scholarships and grants by the Government.

The Government therefore introduced the University Students Loans Scheme (USLS), which was managed by the Ministry of Education. Under the scheme, Kenyan students pursuing higher education at Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam universities received loans to cover their tuition and personal needs, which they would repay on completion of their education. However, the University Students Loans Scheme (USLS) was plagued with a number of problems right on the onset. It lacked the legal basis to recover matured loans from loanees. In addition, the general public and university students wrongly perceived that the loan was a grant from the government, which was not to be repaid. In order to address this problem, in July 1995 the Government through an act of Parliament established the Higher Education Loans Board to administer the Student Loans Scheme. In addition, the Board is also empowered to recover all outstanding loans given to former university students by the Government of Kenya since 1952 through HELF and to establish a Revolving Fund from which funds can be drawn to lend out to needy Kenyan students pursuing higher education. The establishment of a revolving fund was also expected to ease pressure on the exchequer in financing education, which currently stands at 40% of the annual national budget.