Hundreds of students across the country, especially those in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions, are now unable to continue with their education due to delays and non-payment of their HELB funds for the financial year 2024/2025. These funds were meant to cover tuition fees and upkeep for students who had already received approvals.
However, despite HELB’s promises that everything is going smoothly, students are facing real struggles on the ground. Many have not received any money in their school or personal accounts, even though the loans and bursaries were marked as processed.
Some students have even been locked out of sitting their exams due to outstanding fees that HELB was supposed to pay.
Others have had to defer their studies or are unable to get their academic records. What is making the situation worse is that HELB has now opened applications for the 2025/2026 financial year, even though they haven’t resolved the problems from the previous year.
This has left students confused, frustrated, and feeling abandoned by a system that is supposed to support their education.The CEO of HELB, Geoffrey Monari, has gone on national media several times, saying that the funding process is running smoothly and that students are being supported.
But this is not what many students are seeing. Their HELB portals show approved funds, but no money has been received. Some have taken screenshots to prove this, with clear records showing their applications were successful, but months later, no disbursements have been made.
One of the affected students reached out to Nyakundi and shared their experience. The student explained that only a few bursary payments were made after the old model was reinstated.
Most of the funds for the 2024/2025 year are still pending, and the new financial year cycle has started without addressing this. According to the student, HELB has opened new applications while ignoring those who were already approved and still waiting for their tuition and upkeep money.
The student confirmed they were locked out of their exams because their fees had not been paid.This situation has created serious problems for many students who depend on HELB to stay in school.
Instead of focusing on their studies, they are forced to chase after funds that should have already been released. Many are now demanding answers from HELB.
They want the board to explain why approved funds were not disbursed, and how it plans to fix the mess before moving on to a new cycle.
Confidence in HELB is quickly fading, and unless something changes soon, even more students could be pushed out of education simply because a government body failed to keep its word.
