The Higher Education Loans Board ( HELB) is a Statutory body established in July 1995 by an act of Parliament ” higher education loans board act” cap 213 A. Some HELB products include HELB loans, scholarships, partner funds, and devolved funds.
The most common product is the HELB loan and here is how to apply for HELB subsequent loan for undergraduate students for the financial year 2021/2022.
Eligibility
1. Recent beneficiaries of the Undergraduate Loan.
2. Students placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service [KUCCPS] in the local public and private universities.
3. Self-Sponsored, Parallel, and Module II Students studying for a Bachelor’s degree only [Certificate, Diploma, Pre-University and Postgraduate students ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PRODUCT]
Steps
1. Applicants should visit the Google play store and download the HELB Mobile Application.
2. Register your details (First name, Phone, Email Address, National ID, and KRA PIN) on the HELB App to generate a PIN that you will use to log in and accept the license agreement. Ensure that you use the Safaricom number that you use for Mpesa transactions and it should be registered in your name.
3. Read the mandatory Financial literacy notes and undertake a brief Question & Answer to appreciate the purpose of credit. Scroll down to view results then click “proceed”.
4. Click on loans then select undergraduate loans to get the Undergraduate Subsequent Loan Application Form [LAF].
5. Follow each step to fill in the required details and submit. A pop-up message will appear to show that you have successfully applied. The loan serial number will also be displayed
NB: You will be required to pay Kshs1 from your MPESA account during the application process to verify your telephone number. Please note, the application is paperless hence no printing.
Alternatively, you can use the USSD *642# for offline application.
Students that are not Safaricom subscribers will be directed to the Portal and apply using the application form, after which they will be required to print and submit the form to the HELB Student Service Centre on Mezzanine 1 Floor at Anniversary Towers
Loan award
The maximum Undergraduate loan awarded is Kshs60,000. For the students placed by Kenya University and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), the loan amount is split to cater for both Tuition fees and Upkeep.
A standard amount of Kshs4,000 for Government-sponsored students only is deducted from the loan awarded and disbursed to the university per semester, for tuition [Total Ksh8, 000], and the rest is sent to the applicant’s bank account as upkeep.
For the Self-sponsored students, all the money is sent directly to the university once a year as tuition fees.
An Administrative Fee of Ksh500 per year is charged on the loan awarded and it is therefore deducted from the disbursed loan. A limited number of needy government-sponsored students receive a bursary between Ksh4, 000 and Ksh8,000 per year. The Bursary is paid to the university as tuition.