Students Sensitized On HELB Scholarships And Loans

Aug 17, 2023 - 07:03

Form four leavers from Uriri Sub County during a KUCCPS and HELB sensitisation exercise at Uriri Boy’s High School. The forum which was organised by the Office of Uriri Member of Parliament, Mark Nyamita aimed to address the concern issues raised by the students in applying for the HELB scholarship and loan. Photos by Geoffrey Makokha.

Migori

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

KNA by Geoffrey Makokha

Students, parents, and education stakeholders in Uriri Sub County, Migori County have undergone a sensitisation forum on how to apply for The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loans and scholarships.

The forum which was organised by the Office of Uriri Member of Parliament, Mark Nyamita aimed to address the concerns and issues raised by students in applying for the HELB scholarship and loan.

The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) Official Collins Sabato said that the sensitisation forum will enable the form four leavers on how best to apply for their carrier choices as per their KCSE performance as well as the HELB scholarships and loans.

Sabato said that there was a lot of misrepresentation on social media about the increase in university fees that was not really. He was, however, optimistic that the forum will help to address some of the misconceptions about the college fees.

The official clarified that the HELB scholarship and loan will cover a large part of the college fees but guardians will have to top-up to complete the fee depending on the needs of the students.

The new funding model 2023, will see students from vulnerable and extremely needy households receiving 100 percent funding. The needy and less needy will get 93 percent government funding and a paltry 7 percent contribution from their households to cover the tuition fees.

Sabato also clarified that those students that applied for private Universities slots will only be eligible for HELB loans but not scholarships.

"HELB scholarship will only be available to students that applied for public university slots. The HELB scholarship is like a bursary and the benefiting students will not pay it back”, disclosed Sabato.

He also disclosed that those students that did not apply for KUCCPS placement should do so through a formal letter requesting for the placement addressed to the KUCCPS CEO for consideration.

Uriri Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Account Manager Moses Oduor said that KUCCPS and the HELB sensitisation forum will equip form four leavers with the necessary information on how to apply for courses as well as Helb scholarships and loans.

“This is a new process of applying for university-college fees and it was important for the students to understand the process in order to make informed choices and the right process of doing things,” said Oduor.

The official affirmed that the Uriri CDF will work jointly with the HELB team and make informed choices on how based to award bursaries to the students.

He said that the CDF team will award bursaries by considering the amount that the student will have obtained through the HELB scholarship and loan to ensure equity among the students.

Flavian Biance, a student and a beneficiary of the forum said that the sensitization exercise will enable her to make informed choices when applying for the HELB scholarship and loan.

She said that the majority of parents in Migori are peasant farmers and the little they get cannot fully cater for their children's education.

Biance emphasised that the forum will enable the majority of students waiting to join various universities to be aware of what they are supposed to be doing in order to qualify for full HELB scholarships and loans.

Courtesy ; K. N. A