HELB CEO Geoffrey Monari/Photo File

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Chief Executive Officer, Geoffrey Monari, has stated that university and college students’ class attendance shall determine their loan disbursement, warning them against missing classes.

Speaking on Tuesday morning during an interview on a local radio station,  Monari stated that the disbursement of the loans to students was subject to strict verification that could see the board reclaim funds disbursed to students who fail to attend classes.

“Students should know that we’re giving a loan, so we must ensure that they are in class and that the details match. A lot of due diligence is done before disbursing the loan,” he added.

He also noted that the loans board also reclaims money erroneously disbursed to defunct or wrong student accounts, adding that such occasions are usually addressed promptly when a student makes a follow-up.

To mitigate the occurrence of such incidents, Monari urged learners to always ensure their bank accounts are active and the mobile money transfer information is correct for easy and fast disbursement.

Monari’s clarification stems from concerns raised by a section of university and college students who expressed disappointment over the board’s delay in disbursing their upkeep.

While acknowledging the delays, the HELB CEO revealed that the board was in the process of addressing such issues to ensure timely disbursement to students who have yet to receive their funds.

“We will look at the special cases because there are a few cases that were not paid, but we are working towards that,” the HELB CEO affirmed.

Monari went ahead to urge students who have yet to receive their upkeep to reach out to HELB directly through its official contacts or tag the board on its social media platforms.

He further disclosed that HELB had so far disbursed Ksh21 billion to students for the first semester, with Ksh18 billion released to university students and Ksh3 billion to students in colleges.

During the interview, Monari further revealed that the government had developed a system in which all institutions, whether universities or colleges, can see how much a student has received from HELB.

By Juma Ndigo

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