The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) on Tuesday, April 8, sent out a notice to university students following the conclusion of the public participation process, which had invited students to present their grievances over the funding model.
In the notice, HELB, together with the Universities Fund (UF), announced a 21-day period for students to present their grievances to the Board. The period commenced on April 1.
“Following the successful abbreviated public participation, the stakeholder comments, memoranda, and feedback, the two State Corporations have improved the scholarship and loan appeals mechanism,” HELB noted.
“The appeals portal remains open for a period of 21 days from April 1, 2025, to allow aggrieved students to provide their submissions,” it further stated.
The public participation process followed a court order by the Court of Appeal, which directed the two state bodies to conduct the activity in order to improve the controversial funding model.
This was after the court suspended a previous High Court ruling that had declared the university funding model unconstitutional.
The ruling by the appellate court allowed the government to resume the Variable Scholarship Loan Funding Model, which categorizes students based on financial need.
The funding model placed students in five different financial bands from band 1 to band 5, with band one being the neediest and band five being the least needy.
Consequently, HELB and UF embarked on a public participation drive from April 1 to April 4, where they collected stakeholder comments and memoranda submissions via their various online platforms and physical locations.
As per the two agencies, the drive was also held in various public universities and polytechnics across the country, resulting in improvements to the scholarship and loan appeals mechanism.
Since the introduction of the model, university students across the country have staged protests, many terming it unfair. These protests reached a peak when students filed formal appeals against it.
Despite the backlash, the Court of Appeal allowed the government to continue implementing the model while legal challenges are being heard.
In that regard, HELB noted that as the Variable Scholarship Loan Funding Model is subject to an ongoing court appeal, the process may change in the future depending on the outcome of the appeal before the court.
