In a motion tabled in the Senate, Wajir Senator Dr. Abdullahi Ali wants the Ministry of Education and Helb compelled to institute a six-month full waiver period for interest and penalties, as well as lift the blacklisting of borrowers by the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).
The motion, however, has to be implemented by the Ministry in full before the benefits are felt by the public, assuming it is passed by Senate.
“The listing on CRB prevents them from accessing loan facilities from any other financial institution in Kenya, as well as employment opportunities in the government and other major private and publicly listed companies,” he stated.
“The loan defaulters are also pursued and forced to service the Helb loans,” he added.
The lawmaker, however, clarified that the six-month full waiver period will be extended to defaulters who were willing to repay their loans in full within the period.
In his motion Ali also wants the ministry and Helb to conduct a 45-day sensitization exercise, preceding the waiver no later than 90 days after the motion is adopted by the Senate.
The legislator goes ahead to term the measures taken by the ministry, which include working with law enforcement, as impractical.
He argues that there are graduates who have gone for many years without gainful employment even after graduating from institutions of higher learning.
“They are therefore overburdened with loans that have accumulated interest and penalties that they have no means to repay,” he explained.
Since inception in 1995 through an act of Parliament, Helb has been the leading financier of higher education in the country.
In 2019, the board announced that the government has lost over Ksh7.2 billion with about 74,692 graduates defaulting the study loans.
