Written By Mary Mumbua 📝
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has extended the deadline for the Covid-19 100 percent penalty waiver from April 30 to June 30.
HELB CEO Charles Ringera said Kenya’s economy had slowed down due to the pandemic.
“We acknowledge that unemployment and underemployment and the challenging environment for loanees to start and run businesses has affected loan repayment,” Ringera said in a press release.
Ringera also acknowledged that the board had been faced with funding challenges.
“This, coupled with inadequate funding from the exchequer (National Treasury) has inadvertently created a funding challenge for students seeking HELB loans,” he added.
He said the waiver coincided with back to school hence the need to extend the deadline.
Kenyans who are still paying their HELB loans or who have not started paying the loans will be exempt from the penalty.
The penalty waiver, known as KamilishaMalipoyaHelb, went into effect on March 1.
The board’s goal was to collect Sh700 million, but as of March 31, it had only collected Sh202 million from 3,500 loanees.
Ringera urged those who had not yet started repaying their college debts to do so this year.
In the last two fiscal years, HELB has received insufficient funds, which has affected loan issuance.
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