Why Students Need an 80% on the HELB Test to Get a Loan
Why Students Need an 80% on the HELB Test to Get a Loan. According to Charles Ringera, CEO of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), applicants will first have to clear the exam for financial assistance from the institution.
Ringera said the aim of the test is to educate students on guidelines for funding during the Kenyans.co.ke Twitter space on Monday, August 7.
The test will also be used by HELB to classify students into different groups and determine how much money will be awarded in scholarships and loans.
To submit their application, students must obtain a test score of at least 80%.
“The objective of the test is to create awareness that these are loans and scholarships and the details of payments you have to make based on the classification you belong to,” said Ringera, who works as a banker.
Further, he emphasized that even though they would receive funding under the previous model, students would continue to be required to take the exam.
Why take the exam?
Ringera emphasized the circumstances in which the petitioners questioned the reasonableness of HELB’s provision of a one-year grace period for loan repayment, in which students had difficulty understanding the terms of the loan.
The one-year grace period, according to HELB’s CEO, was designed to help students transition and establish themselves after graduation.
The terms of the loan are as follows. If you do not repay the debt, your elder siblings will not be able to get the loan. According to Ringera, a former supervisor of the Central Bank of Kenya, loan repayment accounts for 33% of our budget.
“If we loosen the model more Kenyans will go without funds, like last year when we ran out of money,” he continued.
He urged Kenyans to do their duty, stressing that borrowers can repay their loans in a series of installments starting from Ksh 500.
Ringera further encouraged Kenyans to embrace the unorganized sector, which also offers job prospects after graduation.
Why Students Need an 80% on the HELB Test to Get a Loan