The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced that it is willing to forgive any student loan issued in the past if one can prove that the loan never helped them.
This is the first time that HELB is taking a conciliative tone to the war on loan defaulters. HELB noted that there is no point in forcing people to pay the loans they took to finance courses that have never and will never help them.
The directive will help thousands of graduates who have not been paying their loans, simply by giving them peace of mind. HELB has nothing to lose because those loans were bad debt and there was little possibility they would ever be paid. The move is thus a win-win situation.
HELB Loanees Reaction
Recently, there has been an upsurge in the number if people trying to convert their HELB loan into a grant. This could have informed HELB’s about turn on the non-performing loans.
However, the process of getting your loan forgiven is not simple. One will be expected to return their degree certificate to the University and present proof of the same to HELB. You will also need to present your work history and if you have ever been employed, forget the deal.
While this is good start, jobless Kenyans want even more. Some argue that the Universities should go ahead and refund them the tuition money they paid. Others want the University councils to be sued for wasting their time. One student who studied Microprocessor Technology wants the whole Senate hanged for the pain he has experienced.
