Ruto Cabinet Revokes Key Requirement For HELB Applications

Previously, students under 18 who joined the university for their tertiary education were not eligible for HELB loans. 

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Aug 29, 2023 - 20:40
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Ruto Cabinet Revokes Key Requirement For HELB Applications
Kenyans at HELB offices. /PEOPLE DAILY

Students under the age of 18 have been handed a huge reprieve after the Cabinet resolved to scrap the requirement for national identity cards for those applying for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) which has been the go-to funding for millions of university students.

According to a Cabinet despatch sent to newsrooms on Tuesday, August 29, the waiver also applies to students under the age of 18 applying for scholarships under the new funding model.

Previously, students under 18 who joined the university for their tertiary education were not eligible for HELB loans. 

The revocation means that the access to scholarships as well as loans from the board will be made easier for all students eligible to study in university.

President William Ruto chairing a Cabinet meeting at Kakamega State Lodge on August 29, 2023. /PCS

"Cabinet was further updated on the 2023/24 placement cycle for University/Higher Education Learning Students and the attendant roll-out of the new funding model.

"Cabinet waived the requirement for national identity cards for students who have not attained the age of 18, and further directed the Ministry of Education, jointly with all stakeholders, to fast-track access to scholarships for all eligible students," the despatch read in part.

President William Ruto's Cabinet, which met at Kakamega State Lodge, also approved the upgrading of 13 Technical and Vocational Colleges to National Polytechnic status. 

The action by Cabinet is pursuant to the principles set out in Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005: A Framework for Education, Training and Research; which establishes a pathway for upward mobility of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates.

The institutions include Maasai Technical Training Institute, Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology, Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology, Coast Institute of Technology, and Tseikuru Technical & Training College.

Others are Sang’alo Institute of Science & Technology, Bureti Technical Vocational College, Jeremiah Nyagah Technical Training Institute, Mawego Technical Training Institute, and Baringo Technical Training Institute.

"The policy framework also requires the establishment of at least one National Polytechnic in each County, and a TVET institution in each constituency," added the despatch.

Ruto To Scrap NHIF After 57 Years

In another key highlight of the Cabinet meeting, President Ruto set in motion a plan to scrap the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and create three separate funds in its place, the first time since 1966 that NHIF faces a complete abolishment.

By revoking NHIF and replacing it, President Ruto seeks to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as set out within his plan for a healthier nation espoused under the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

The following funds will therefore replace NHIF:

  1. Primary Healthcare Fund
  2. Social Health Insurance Fund
  3. Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund.

The funds will be created after Parliament passes the following bills to pave the way for the paradigm shift in healthcare financing in the country.

  1. The Primary Health Care Bill, 2023;
  2. The Social Health Insurance Bill, 2023.
  3. The Facility Improvement Financing Bill, 2023
  4. The Digital Health Bill, 2023;

“These bills usher in a paradigm in the legal and institutional framework for healthcare in Kenya,” Cabinet noted.

The Digital Health Bill of 2023, will enable the development of standards towards the provision of m-health, telemedicine, and e-learning in healthcare.

“This new architecture is expected to provide a framework for improved health outcomes and financial protection of families in fidelity to the State's solemn duty to guarantee the health and welfare of all her citizens,” Cabinet dispatch read.

According to State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the three funds result from the reorganization of the pre-existing funds.

"The reorganization of the Ksh550 billion that constitutes our total health expenditure, to achieve Universal Health Coverage. The Primary Care Fund will be funded from the Exchequer," he stated.

Speaking during the Inaugural National Cancer Summit Kenya 2023 Launch at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi on Thursday, February 2, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha announced plans to change the name of NHIF to the National Social Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF).

"I want to declare here today that I shall be moving it from a National Health Insurance Fund to a National Social Health Insurance Fund," she announced, much to the applause of guests in attendance.

Health CS Susan Nakhumicha Wafula during the commissioning of the CyberKnife at the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital on April 24, 2023. /TWITTER.SUSAN NAKHUMICHA