The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced changes to how it allocates funds to students following the government's decision to scrap the previous funding model.
Unlike the previous years, where funding was done based on students' bands, HELB on Friday, August 22, said the new allocations would be done based on the cost of the programme and a student's level of financial need.
"HELB no longer categorises student funding allocation into bands. Each student's allocation is based on their assessed level of financial need and the cost of the programme," HELB revealed.
The loans board determines the cost of a student's programme by collecting real-time data from the learner's institution.
It also determines the level of a student's need by using the Means Testing Instrument (MTI). MTI is a scientific method used to determine the student’s level of need by using proxy indicators.
According to HELB, the amount of fees to be paid by each student would be provided by the institution one is admitted, with learners urged to log into the website of their respective institution and get more information.
HELB also addressed the amount each first-year student would receive as an upkeep award, with the loans board stating that each student would have an amount unique to their financial need assessment outcome.
Those seeking to access their upkeep allocations were urged to visit the HELB student portal and log in to confirm whether their applications had been processed.
In its statement, HELB also disclosed reasons for reducing upkeep allocations for some students. As per the baord, the decision was informed by the government's move to reduce university programme cost.
"The government reduced the university programme cost, and you will now pay less in fees. The allocations take into consideration the reduced cost of the programme," HELB announced.
The latest announcement comes barely three days after the government disbursed Ksh9.4 billion to support 309,178 university students.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, in a statement on Tuesday, August 19, said Ksh5.7 billion of the total funds would be channelled for tuition fees while the remaining amount would go to students' upkeep.
