The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has received a shot in the arm after Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu increased its funding.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, November 8, Machogu announced that the state had already approved Ksh15.8 billion for the institution.
That's an increase from the previous budget of Ksh15.2 billion the board received during the 2021/2022 financial year.
Machogu further revealed that Ksh50 billion had already been set aside to fund public universities activities and promised that the two kitties would not be subjected to austerity measures being implemented across government departments.
"The Government has allocated a capitation of Ksh50 billion for university education and another Ksh15 billion to the Higher Education Loans Board. I want to assure our Universities that nobody is interfering with that money - even the cost-cutting measures with other sectors of the economy.
"Our universities, relax and rest assured that the Government will continue to fund our universities but we are also asking that if there are other ways we can generate income for our universities, why not," he stated.
The sentiments were a departure from his earlier stance where he reportedly advocated for the exchequer to stop funding universities.
Instead, he claimed that the institutions should figure out ways to raise their own revenue through research among other activities.
In his latest press briefing, however, the CS distanced himself from the utterances.
"I want to make a clarification, nobody ever said that University funds are going to be done away with. It is better we get an entire story, what we said is that the government is supporting universities through capitation and infrastructural funds. That is clearly manifested in the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto," he added.
Recently, HELB struggled in disbursing monies to its beneficiaries decrying low repayment rate and delayed disbursement from the exchequer.
In February 2022, the board delayed disbursement to 75,000 beneficiaries after treasury failed to grant them Ksh3 million on time.