NAIROBI, Kenya – The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has extended the deadline for student loan applications, giving both first-time and continuing learners more time to apply.
In a statement on Tuesday, September 2, the board said first-time applicants now have until September 14, 2025, while continuing students have until September 7, 2025—a one-week extension from the previous August 31 deadline.
The move is expected to benefit 802,159 students across universities and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions, ensuring that no learner misses out on financial support.
“Applications for first-time and continuing university and TVET loans are open,” HELB said, noting that students can apply via USSD (*642#), the HELB mobile App, or the M-Pesa mini App.
By September 1, the loans board had already received 1,117,239 applications, including 741,931 from university students and 375,308 from TVET learners.
The extension follows a directive from Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, who on August 29 instructed HELB to push the deadline for first-year applicants to September 14.
“We are pleased to notify parents, guardians, university and TVET students that the Universities Fund and HELB have disbursed Sh23.16 billion in financial support to 802,159 learners across the country,” said CS Ogamba.
Of the total Sh23.16 billion, Sh4.1 billion came from the Universities Fund as scholarships for public university students, while HELB provided Sh19.06 billion—including Sh7.6 billion for tuition fees and Sh11.46 billion for student upkeep.
The extension covers second, third, and fourth-time applicants, depending on the length of their academic programmes.
