President William Ruto has pleaded with Kenyans who have outstanding Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) balances to settle them so that others can benefit.
The Head of State was speaking at a Town Hall meeting held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) while engaging members of the public on the new university funding model.
“I will encourage those of us who took loans at the universities; if you can afford to pay, please let us pay because it is the honourable thing to do.
“This is so that the next batch of kids can access university education,” the president said on Sunday, August 25, 2025.
Ruto also said that having a HELB loan is not a crime and that there is no need to ask those who cannot pay to settle it now.
“The loan issue is not a new phenomenon. I can tell you that any student, unless the parents paid the full fee, they have a loan.
“And I do not think there is a crime in having a loan. If you have a loan and you genuinely do not have the money to pay, it is not a crime,” he added.
Grace period
The Head of State also talked about the grace period of HELB loan payments and said that there is a need to look at it.
“I am agreeable that we must look into the subject of grace periods, especially to consider that no student is asked to pay until they have a job.
“I am agreeable to that because you cannot ask a person who is tarmacking to pay. This is because you are asking for the impossible,” he continued.
He further stated that only those who have means to settle should be asked to pay, and those without cannot be forced to do so.
“I did not pay until I got a job. Nobody followed me; maybe these people are more aggressive now. So, I think the position should be that until we are sure that a person has an income, then that can be asked,” Ruto continued.
