While ushering in the New Year at State House in Mombasa, President William Ruto announced his government’s plan to abolish the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), and replace it with the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) in order to improve the education system.
The NSFC will absorb the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) funding and increase funding by 45 per cent compared to HELB.
“In the last four months I have been in office, I have laid a perfect groundwork that will transform the country’s tertiary education system.
“Instead of different funding systems, the government will establish the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) that will amalgamate the existing funding bodies,” Ruto announced.
The NSFC will also mobilize grants, bursaries, and scholarships from private and public sponsors to cover non-tuition costs for university students.
“The new body will double the current HELB funds from KES 11 billion to KES 22 billion,” said President Ruto.
“NSFC will further mobilize grants, bursaries, and scholarships from private and public sponsors to cover non-tuition costs,” he added.
The decision to abolish HELB and establish the NSFC was based on a report compiled by a task force formed to review the Competency Based Curriculum.
The task force was tasked with developing a governance and financing framework for TVET training and development, university education, research, and training.
HELB was established in 1995 to provide funding for Kenyan university students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at East African universities recognized by the Commission for University Education.
In addition to establishing the NSFC, President Ruto announced that the government will hire 30,000 additional basic education teachers and 3,000 TVET tutors to ensure a smooth transition into the first Junior Secondary School level.
The government will also spend Ksh 15 billion to equip 70 TVET institutions to help learners train and prepare for the labor market.
