The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has been a cornerstone of Kenya’s education system since its inception in 1995, turning academic dreams into reality for 1.23 million students. But behind the billions disbursed lies a critical balancing act: funding the next generation of students while ensuring past beneficiaries repay their loans to keep the cycle going.
In a televised interview on KBC Channel 1 on Thursday evening, HELB’s Chief Executive Officer, Geoffrey Monari, provided a transparent look at the board’s monumental impact, the stubborn challenge of loan defaults, and the strategic shifts needed to secure its future.
The Scale of Impact
HELB’s footprint on Kenya’s educational landscape is profound, according to the CEO, this year alone they have been able to fund 983,107 students some whom have already reported to various universities with 514,000 students already paid Ksh 20.4 billion for the academic year.
“Since its inception, HELB has supported over 1.9 million students with a cumulative total of KSh 195 billion in which KSh 33 billion of that total has been recycled from loan repayments by past beneficiaries. Currently, we have 488,000 students repaying their loans and these are the students who are supporting the current students,” Monari emphasized, highlighting the model’s design. “Last year alone, KSh 5.2 billion in repayments funded 49,000 university students and 114,000 in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET),”He added.
Tracking down the defaulters
The success of the revolving fund model depends on timely repayments. Here, HELB faces its biggest test. Out of the 1.9 million beneficiaries, a significant portion have not yet entered the repayment phase. According to Monari, 256,000 have fully repaid their loans, while 488,000 are currently repaying. This leaves over a million beneficiaries outside the “repaid or repaying” bracket. Monari clarified that this includes 78,000 currently in university and 300,000 recent graduates who have just entered the grace period. However, a substantial number are yet to pay.
“Approximately 100,000 graduates are holding an estimated KSh 32 billion in outstanding loans that are due,” he noted.
Categorizing the Defaulters
Monari broke down the defaulters into three distinct categories, each requiring a different strategy. The first group he named is the “Hardcore” Non-Payers who are now around 15,000 people. Saying that these are people who can pay but won’t pay. Adding that these are often individuals with loans over 20 years old who actively refuse to repay. The other group is the ‘willing but unable’; these are graduates who are unemployed, underemployed, or in low-paying casual jobs that lack the means to repay. The third group is the procrastinators; who he said really want to pay but they keep on postponing,” Monari explained that this group needs convenience and reminders to trigger action.
HELB’s recovery arsenal
To tackle this, he noted that HELB employs a multi-pronged approach like loan waiver campaigns encourage payment, while listings with Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) have affected 64,000 individuals, blocking their access to further credit. Another strategy is HELB conducts employer inspections (236 this year, identifying 28,000 new loanees) and works with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue Kenyans in the diaspora, who repaid KSh 100 million last year and the last measure for the “hardcore” group is that HELB uses debt collectors (who charge a 20% fee to the defaulter), writes to guarantors, and applies penalties that increase the debt.
Strengthening the Bite
The CEO identified two critical amendments needed in the HELB Act for stronger legal tools namely the power to freeze and attach the assets of those who can pay but refuse and a law to freeze the accounts of companies that deduct loan repayments from employees but fail to remit the KSh 34 million currently held by such firms.
“Those are areas that can be strengthened for HELB to carry out its mandate effectively,” Monari said, noting that draft amendments are already with the Attorney General’s office.
Shaming of defaulters
Monari explained that the “list of shame” was discontinued due to data privacy laws, shifting the focus to individual legal pursuit.
The Future: New Funding Model
Looking ahead, HELB is adapting to new challenges, including the rise of the gig economy, which makes income tracking difficult. Monari cited collaboration with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) as a potential solution.
On operations, he noted that while technology has helped, a shortage of about 40 staff members affects front-office service and recovery efforts, which will be addressed progressively.
Finally, Monari assured Kenyans that the new Student-Centered Funding Model is being refined based on a presidential committee’s review, which has already led to reduced program costs and a more refined means-testing instrument to ensure need-based funding.
Watch the whole interview below:-
