The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has threatened to publish the names and pictures of defaulters of HELB loans from 1975 to date. In a notice, HELB said that the HELB student loan is a government debt which should be repaid as per the terms and conditions on which it was advanced. “However, some beneficiaries who are in default have not responded to previous communication addressed to them yet the funds received from loan repayment are used to support the current needy students therefore sustained default hinders funding of other deserving Kenyan youth,” read part of the notice.
They have issued a 30-day notice, from Monday, after which the names and pictures of defaulters will be published in leading newspapers, “….thereafter legal action may ensue against each defaulter as stipulated in the HELB Act,” read the notice. The announcement caused mixed reactions from Kenyans, with many pointing out their inability to clear the hefty loans owed to HELB due to the current unemployment problem and strained economy.