President Ruto Announces Plan to Abolish HELB and Set Up a Funding Body

President Ruto has announced plans to abolish the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) funding as part of reforms in the education sector.

This will pave the way for the establishment of the National Skill and Funding Council to connect the two levels in order to provide a credit transfer framework and to support academic progression.

Ruto said the council will be charged with mobilizing grants, bursaries, and scholarships from private and public sponsors to cover non-tuition costs.

“To bridge the current higher education funding gap of up to 45 percent, the government will establish the National Skill and Funding Council that amalgamates Helb, TVET, and University Funding Board. This immediately doubles the current Higher Education Loans Board funding from Sh11 billion to Sh22 billion and eliminates interest on Helb loans,” said Ruto.

Ruto pointed out that the Kenya Kwanza administration has been laying the groundwork for a revolution in the education sector, promising to invest more funds in the sector.

At the same time, Ruto said 30,000 additional teachers for basic education and 3,000 tutors for TVET institutions will be hired this year to ensure a smooth transition into the first Junior Secondary School level.

“We intend to use our education system to develop world-class human capital. This is why, in January, we set out to hire more teachers to ensure that our primary to junior secondary transition is flawless,” Ruto said.

 “We commit to ensuring government-initiated in-service training, including Teacher Continuous Professional Development.”

The government also intends to spend Sh15 billion to equip 70 TVET institutions to assist in the training of learners and prepare them for the labor market.