The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) has appealed to beneficiaries of the fund to repay as a means of assisting other students in college.
Helb CEO, Charles Ringera has said that the agency is short on funds and repaying some of the loans will go a long way in boosting their services. Ringera noted that majority of loans are yet to be paid by graduates despite having a source of income.
"After graduation, we normally give beneficiaries a grace period of one year so that they can start to repay. However, many have not been doing so despite having a source of income," said Ringera.
The agency has so far sponsored 520, 000 students since its inception in 1970.
“Out of these 120, 000 beneficiaries have repaid sh10billion, 73, 000 beneficiaries have not bothered to come forward and repay their loans and they are carrying about sh11 billion," said Ringera.
Currently, the agency requires about sh2 billion more to run its activities effectively in the next financial year.
The treasury has only allocated sh9.1 billion up from last year's allocation of sh7.5 billion. Sh10 billion is needed to facilitate students loans while sh1 billion is needed to fund the operational costs.