NAIROBI, Kenya – The Ministry of Education has announced that Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) disbursements for first-year university students will begin on August 15, 2025, aligning with the reopening of public universities and technical colleges.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said in a statement issued on July 31 that the phased release of funds is intended to help students transition smoothly into academic life and avoid financial disruptions as institutions resume learning.
“The disbursement of Helb loans for first-year university students will begin on August 15, 2025, in line with the reopening of universities,” the statement read.
The loans are being issued under the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM), now in its second year of implementation.
Ogamba added that the Universities Fund has already released first-quarter scholarship funds to all public universities for the 2025–26 financial year.
As of July 31, 129,403 university students and 60,976 TVET trainees had submitted applications for government loans and scholarships.
The portal for Helb applications remains open until August 31, 2025, for the 2024 KCSE candidates placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
“We encourage all eligible students who have not applied to do so before the deadline,” said Ogamba.
This academic year, the government is targeting support for 201,695 new university entrants and over 237,000 trainees joining Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, alongside 257,523 continuing students.
To expand access, the ministry announced a Sh5 billion increase in Helb’s annual allocation, raising it from Sh36 billion to Sh41 billion.
Out of this, Sh13 billion has already been released for student tuition and upkeep, while Sh16.9 billion has been allocated to the Universities Fund for scholarship support.
“To ensure no student is left behind due to financial constraints, the government has significantly boosted funding,” the CS said.
The announcement comes just days after the government unveiled a nationwide reduction in university fees across all programmes in public institutions—a move that further underscores its effort to make higher education more affordable.
