William Ruto Discloses He Paid His HELB Loan After Being Elected As MP: "From First Salary"

• President William Ruto said that HELB beneficiaries should not be rushed into repaying their loans until they secure employment
• He revealed that he repaid his loan of KSh 55,000 with an interest of 2% from his first salary as a Member of Parliament
• Praising the new model, Ruto stated that it would save the varsities from being insolvent as well as be of great help to poor students

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Nairobi - President William Ruto has discussed the new university funding model with students at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

Among the topics addressed was the issue of loan repayment.

President Ruto emphasised that no beneficiary of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) should be required to repay their loans before securing employment.

"I agree that we must look into the subject of loan grace periods so that no student should be asked to pay until they have a job. You can't ask a person who is tarmacking to pay, you'll be asking for the impossible," said Ruto.

When did Ruto pay his HELB loan?

He shared his personal experience, revealing that he financed his university education with a KSh 55,000 loan.

Upon becoming a Member of Parliament, he repaid the loan with his first salary, including a 2% interest, which brought the total repayment amount to KSh 69,000.

"I went to university in 1987 as a fresher and I had a loan just like you do. My loan was KSh 55,000 with an interest of 2%. The statistics are there with HELB. I paid my loan of KSh 69,000 with my first salary job as a Member of Parliament," the president revealed.

Ruto praises new university funding model

He strongly defended the model, asserting that it would prevent financial instability in higher learning institutions and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

He explained that the model accommodates students based on their course and the varying fees charged by different colleges.

How poor students will benefit from the model

Through the Means Testing Instrument (MTI), the government can determine the level of students' needs using 10 key parameters.

The parameters are; parents' background, gender, course type, previous school type, expenditure on education, family size and composition, marginalisation, persons living with disability, chronic illness, and income.

Students who are extremely needy and vulnerable will get scholarships at 70% and loans at 25%, while the household will contribute only 5% of the fees. The students categorised as band one, get upkeep of KSh 60,000.

What else you need to know about the funding model

• UoN student leader who called for demonstrations to oppose the new funding model has gone missing
• Over 12,000 demanded re-categorisation in government funding model
• The government shared a guide on how students placed in the wrong bands can file an appeal

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke