NAIROBI, Kenya – Students at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) can now access financial aid again following the reinstatement of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) sponsorship program.
The government has allocated Ksh500 million in the 2024/2025 supplementary budget to support financially needy students at the institution.
The reinstatement follows the withdrawal of HELB funding in the 2023/2024 Financial Year when a government directive redirected Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) funds exclusively to institutions under the Ministry of Education.
This left many KMTC students struggling to meet their financial obligations.
Dr. Kelly Oluoch, the KMTC CEO, expressed relief at the development.
“The absence of funding had placed a heavy burden on many of our students, making it difficult for them to continue with their training,” Oluoch said.
The reinstatement is the result of extensive lobbying efforts by KMTC leadership.
Dr. Oluoch highlighted their engagements with key government stakeholders, including the Parliamentary Committee on Health and the Ministry of Health.
“We appeared before various arms of the National Assembly, including the Pending Bills Verification Committee and the Departmental Committee on Health, to push for the reinstatement of the program,” he said.
Additionally, KMTC Board Chairperson Joseah Cheruiyot and Dr. Oluoch presented the matter to President William Ruto during the official opening of the KMTC Kerio Valley Campus in January 2025.
The funds are expected to be disbursed to HELB in the coming weeks.
Once received, HELB will reopen its portal so that KMTC students can apply for loans.
“This means we will go ahead and ask the Treasury to release the funds. Once the money reaches our bank, we will ask HELB to open the portal for students to apply,” said Dr. Oluoch.
Since the program’s inception in the 2022/2023 Financial Year, 22,342 KMTC students have benefited from HELB loans.
The reinstatement of the program ensures that many financially needy students can now continue their training without financial strain.
