Higher Educations Loans Board (HELB) flagged a notice claiming that a set of students was set to miss out on funds disbursement for two years.
The HELB stated that the message was deceptive and that it did not originate from any of its verified social media sites.
According to the phony social media post, funding for students in batches 4260 and 4389 wouldn’t begin until 2024.
It attributed the cancellation to a purported direction issued by the National Treasury to refrain from transferring monies to the HELB coffers for the fiscal year 2023/2024.
“It has come to our attention of a photoshopped picture circulating on social media purporting that it is from HELB.
“This is to confirm that it is fake news,” HELB insisted.
The post started making rounds after some applicants raised concerns over delays in the disbursement of funds. Most college and university students complained to the board that they couldn’t afford to cover basic living expenses like tuition and food.
“We are currently working on the disbursements, and that shall be communicated once the payment is made,” HELB responded to raised concerns.
In July of 2022, HELB began accepting applications for the 2022–2023 academic year. Students who had been selected for placement by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services were the focus of this program (KUCCPS).
Students enrolling in public universities recognised by Commission for University Education (CUE) were also listed for the funds.
HELB set the deadline to November 30, 2022, allowing more students to enrol on the programme.
Loan amounts for first-year college students are between Ksh40,000 and Ksh60,000. After graduating, they must immediately begin paying back the credit.
