Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has released a total of Ksh9.46 billion in financial support to university students across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, August 19, Ogamba noted that the funds are meant to cover tuition fees and upkeep allowances for the students.
"We are pleased to notify parents, guardians and university students that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has, as of today, disbursed a total of Ksh9.46 billion in financial support to 309,178 university students. This amount comprises Ksh5.76 billion for tuition fees and Ksh3.7 billion for student upkeep," he said.
Ogamba urged beneficiaries to check their loan status on the HELB portal, adding that the government is committed to ensure education remains accessible and affordable.
"Students are advised to check their HELB portals to confirm receipt of the funds and to access detailed information regarding their individual HELB loan accounts.
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"The Government will continue to provide the requisite funding to ensure that higher education remains accessible and affordable and that no student is left behind on account of financial limitations," he added.
Earlier, Ogamba had announced that the government has raised HELB’s annual funding from Ksh36 billion to Ksh41 billion to meet the growing demand for financial support.
"To ensure No Student is left behind, the Government has increased HELB's annual funding from KSh 36 billion to KSh 41 billion, a significant boost of KSh.5 billion.
"Of this, KSh 13 billion has already been released to support tuition and upkeep for students, while KSh. 16.9 billion has been allocated to the Universities Fund for Scholarships," he said in a statement on Thursday, July 31.
Meanwhile, HELB has announced that applications for first-time and continuing undergraduate and TVET loans remain open.
In a notice released on Tuesday, August 19, HELB revealed that 961,023 students have applied for funding as of August 18, 2025.
With nearly one million students submitting their applications, the breakdown shows that 660,560 are undergraduate applications while 300,463 are TVET applications.
The board emphasized that the application window remains active until August 31, 2025, urging eligible students to submit their applications promptly to secure educational funding for the upcoming academic year.
"Applications for first-time & continuing UG & TVET loans are open! 961,023 students have already applied (as of 18th Aug 2025). Apply now & secure your funding! See poster below for details," HELB announced.
