The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) will start releasing loans to First Year university students from August 15, promising a smooth start to studies after successive years of agony due to delayed disbursements.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba on Thursday said the government has facilitated HELB and the Universities Fund to effect the disbursements covering scholarships and loans ahead of the admissions starting on August 18 for most institutions.
“These funds will be released in phases to allow a smooth start for university and TVET college students, helping them settle without disruption,” Ogamba said. “The Ministry remains committed to ensuring that no eligible student is left behind due to lack of funds,” Ogamba explained in a statement.
According to the CS, the Universities Fund is already distributing scholarship funds for the 2025/2026 financial year.
A total of 129,403 Form Four graduates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in 2024 and joining university have applied for the government funding, the ministry said. Another 60,976 eyeing TVETs have also applied for government support, it said. The application deadline is August 31.
University and technical institution annual admissions normally run between August and October.
This year, the government plans to fund 201,695 First year university students, more than 237,000 TVET trainees, and 257,523 continuing students.
In the 2025/26 Budget read in June, HELB’s annual allocation went up by Sh5 billion to Sh41 billion. So far, Sh13 billion has been released for tuition and upkeep. Another Sh16.9 billion has been programmed for scholarships through the Universities Fund.
Under the new Student-Centred Funding Model, government support is divided into loans, scholarships, and upkeep cash. This year, students are expected to have a relief partly with the reduction of university announced this week.
