At least 67,000 former beneficiaries of Higher Education Loans Board loans could be subjected to Credit Reference Bureaus for blacklisting for non payment, the board has said.
Those who are targeted, Helb says, are beneficiaries from 1975 who are yet to comply with the terms and conditions. And should they be subjected to CRB, then acquisition of loans from commercial banks will be a toll order.
“In line with the provision of regulation 50 (1) (a) of the Credit Reference Bureau Regulations, financial institutions are required to list both positive and negative performance of all loans,” said Helb in a notice posted in local dailies.
“As a Helb loan beneficiary you are listed by Helb as a positive listing if you’re compliant or have fully repaid your loan or a negative listing if you’re in default.”
According to the board, over Sh6.5 billion cannot be recovered thus severely affecting subsequent disbursements to deserving students.
"A total of 156,198 accounts valued at Sh24.2 billion are repaying their loans while 67,093 loanees holding Sh6.5 billion are in default. The loan portfolio is performing at 70 per cent," said Helb.
The board however admits that at least 25,000 of the former beneficiaries cannot be traced, raising questions on how the board could evade such future eventualities.
Recently, university students poured into the streets, accusing former education boss Amina Mohammed of 'failed policies' when she threatened defaulters with police arrests and detentions.
Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino, has already threatened to ensure defaulters are not punished of at all they are yet to start income generation activities.