UoN VC says State should partner with banks to fund varsities amid Helb’s cash crisis

The University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor Professor Stephen Kiama has upheld that the government can work with banks to develop different models of financing students accessing higher education to avoid losing them because of limited funding.

Speaking at Mount Kenya University in Thika at the weekend, the VC regretted the increased number of students who failed to get Helb allocation, a situation that is likely to force many students to drop out of universities.

“Numbers of students have increased exponentially but the amount of money allocated to Helb has not kept pace with that increase. Progressively, we hope the government will develop different models of financing students accessing higher learning education,” he said.

He continued: “It is time now to even think about whether it is possible to work with banks, which have elaborate mechanisms of collecting loans.”

He maintained the need to have all stakeholders allowed to give input on matters bettering higher education so that young scholars are not limited because of lack of funds.

“We are likely to lose our future when we don’t invest in our youth by equipping them through education,” he added.

MKU Vice-Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said the majority of loan applicants come from poor households and require financial support from Helb to pay for their tuition and upkeep.

“The government needs to pump in more money. The biggest population now is young people eager to access higher education. The government should reprioritize its budget to take care of the students’ interests,” noted Jaganyi.

This comes after more than 75,000 university freshmen failed to get State loans after the Helb ran out of cash, setting them up for a tough life at the beginning of their studies.

Helb said the freshmen, who joined public universities in September, will have to wait till the Treasury offers Sh3 billion for initial disbursement.

The majority of loan applicants come from poor households and require financial support from Helb to pay for their tuition and upkeep. Most universities require full payment of a semester’s fees to admit students and delay in disbursement, therefore, risks forcing some freshmen to postpone their studies.

Helb executives told Parliament that inadequate allocation and delayed release of cash by the Treasury had triggered the cash crunch amid rising defaults from former university students in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that triggered layoffs, business closures and a freeze in hiring.

“Right now, we have 75,000 first-year students that are yet to be funded and we require Sh3 billion to process their applications,” Helb chief finance officer Mary Wachira told the National Assembly Committee on Education during the review of the national budget.