Needy students, who were left stranded following the suspension of the students’ loans scheme, can breathe a sigh of relief following the government’s decision to resume the programme.
Michael Wanyama, the executive director of the Higher Education Students’ Financing Board (HESFB), said the government had released more than Shs14b to finance the scheme.
The government suspended the scheme during the 2023/2024 academic year, only focusing on those who had already been registered for the scheme, due to budgetary shortfalls.
However, after consultations with a wide range of stakeholders including the Ministries of Finance and that of Education and Sports, HESFB was given the green light to ask for a supplementary budget to resume the scheme.
Wanyama said majority of the beneficiaries will be those pursuing diploma and degree science courses, in selected universities and tertiary institutions, while a few slots will be reserved for students pursuing humanities.
He called on learners to take advantage of the scheme, to access higher education.
Wanyama said the application process, which will be done online and commences today, will run for two weeks to enable students to resume school as soon as possible.
