Relief for university students as Gov’t increases HELB fund to Ksh.41B

The Ministry of Education has announced a significant increase in higher education funding, with the government allocating Ksh.41 billion to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) for the 2025/2026 academic year, up from Ksh.36 billion.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the increase is part of the government’s efforts to ensure that “no student is left behind” due to financial constraints.

The ministry confirmed that both HELB and the Universities Fund have been facilitated to begin disbursement of funds to universities and students.

“To ensure no student is left behind, the Government has increased HELB’s annual funding from Ksh.36 billion to Ksh.41 billion, a significant boost of Ksh.5 billion. Of this, Ksh.13 billion has already been released to support tuition and upkeep for students, while Ksh.16.9 billion has been allocated to the Universities Fund for Scholarships,” he stated.

CS Ogamba said that HELB loans for first-year university students will be disbursed starting August 15, 2025, in line with the reopening of universities.

He added that the Universities Fund has also begun disbursing first-quarter scholarship funds for the current financial year to all public universities.

“These funds will be released in phases to ensure a smooth transition into University/TVET College and to help students settle into their academic journey without interruption,” the CS noted.

As of July 31st, the ministry said a total of 129,403 university students and 60,976 TVET trainees had submitted their applications under the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM).

CS Ogamba encouraged all eligible students who have not applied to do so before the application portal closes on August 31, 2025.

For the 2025/2026 academic year, HELB and the Universities Fund are expected to support 201,695 first-year university students, over 237,000 TVET trainees, and 257,523 ongoing students.

So far, the applications submitted represent 64% of the expected university cohort and 51% of the anticipated September TVET intake.

“Processing of the already received applications is ongoing to ensure timely funds disbursement to students and Institutions of Higher Learning,” the CS added.