Up to 136,634 new university students or Freshers have been awarded loans by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) for 2025/2026 academic year starting this month.
In a statement on August 15, Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba said the applicants will receive the funding as previously promised, marking the first time in many years when the Freshers will get the much-needed ahead of reporting date.
In the past, the first-timers have gone through a harrowing experience with the government funding, which is a lifeline for the masses, taking ages to be disbursed. This puts HELB in a cycle of headache brought forth by both limited allocation from the Treasury and inadequate repayments by past beneficiaries that owe the agency billions of shillings.
In his communication, the CS advised all loan applicants to log onto the HELB portal to check their award status.
“As of August 15, 2025, HELB has awarded loans to 136,634 eligible first-time university applicants who successfully submitted their applications,” the statement read.
Learners will this year pay to between Sh5,814 and Sh75,000 per semester, depending on programme and level of financial need, after the recent reduction of university fees.
According to financial need, learners have been categorised as vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and privately sponsored. This year, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) placed 194,372 applicants to various university programmes although 244,563 qualified for degree studies.
“All students who have submitted their loan applications are advised to confirm their upkeep loan status via the HELB student portal at www.hef.co.ke, and coordinate with their respective university finance offices for fee payment schedules,” the statement added.
Universities are expected to access the tuition allocations for each student through the HELB Institution Portal.
