The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Chief Executive Officer, Geoffrey Monari, has revealed that the agency recovered Ksh5.21 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee on Monday, July 14, Monari disclosed that the funds were recovered after HELB traced over 17,000 defaulters through a joint effort with other government agencies.
According to the HELB CEO, the defaulters were traced through digital footprints by leveraging existing data from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and linking with the defaulter’s employer’s audits.
For defaulters who are already dead, HELB collaborated with the Civil Registration Services, which led to the writing off of Ksh347 million in deceased loanee accounts.
Monari made the pronouncement after the lawmakers pressed him to explain the low rate of loan recovery among graduates, with reports indicating that about Ksh15 billion remains in default.
“We did a study and found that it takes an average of six years for some graduates to get a job. Even among those working, underemployment makes repayment difficult,” Monari told the Committee.
