Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced the reopening of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) portal, paving the way for university and TVET students to apply for loans and scholarships under the government’s student-centred funding model.
The announcement was made on July 8, at the KUCCPS Stakeholder Forum where the Ministry was announcing the 2026 University placement results.
“Following the conclusion of the placement process, the higher education financing portal is now open for application by first-time applicants, available at www.hef.co.ke or www.helb.co.ke.”
CS Ogamba strongly advised that all placed students interested in securing funding are therefore advised to apply as soon as possible.
HELB Portal Reopens
Students will receive the results via SMS or through the portal.
Once students know where they have been placed, the Higher Education Fund (HEF) and HELB portals at HEF.co.ke will open for them to apply for government funding.
According to the education ministry, KUCCPS, HELB and the Universities Fund have integrated their systems.
This means a student will not need to carry documents or placement letters from one institution to another.
When a student logs into the funding portal, their placement information will automatically be retrieved from the KUCCPS database.
There will be no need for KUCCPS to manually send student placement files to HELB or the Universities Fund because the systems communicate directly through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
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From next week, KUCCPS plans to open the inter-institution transfer window. This will allow students to transfer between institutions or change courses.
Information on such transfers will also be shared with HELB in real time through the integrated systems.
However, a challenge arises when a student transfers after funding has already been processed and disbursed. In such cases, the money may have been sent to the institution where the student was originally placed.
To avoid this, students who have applied for transfers will be advised to consider their funding applications carefully so that HELB does not process funding based on outdated placement information.
CS Ogamba acknowledged that there have been cases where a student moved to one institution, but funding remained attached to another.
However, the agencies say they are working closely to minimize such errors because their systems are now more tightly integrated.
How to Apply for a HELB Loan in 2026
Students seeking financial support for university or TVET education can apply for a HELB loan through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal.
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The application process is fully online and does not require printing of forms.
To begin, an applicant must visit the HELB or HEF website and create an account by clicking on the registration tab.
The applicant will be required to provide a National ID number or KCSE index number, a valid email address, and create a password.
Once registered, an activation link is sent to the email address provided.
After activating the account, the student logs in and verifies their phone number using a code sent via SMS.
The next step is to complete a personal profile by providing biodata, contact details, and family information.
Applicants are also required to consent to the collection and processing of their personal data before proceeding.
Students then fill in their academic details, including their institution, course, and admission information.
The system is integrated with KUCCPS and can automatically retrieve placement details for government-sponsored students.
Applicants are required to provide details of their parents or guardians, including identification numbers and phone numbers.
Those with deceased parents must provide death certificate information where applicable.
Guarantor details must also be entered as part of the application process.
The student then selects the funding products they wish to apply for, including loans, scholarships and bursaries.
Payment details, either a bank account or a Safaricom number registered under the student’s ID, must also be provided for disbursement purposes.
Before submission, applicants are advised to review all information carefully, accept the loan terms and conditions, and submit the application.
A confirmation message and a PDF copy of the application are sent to the applicant, serving as proof of successful submission.
Students can thereafter monitor the progress of their application, loan allocation and disbursement status through the HELB Student Portal.
The deadline for first-time undergraduate and TVET loan applications for the 2026/2027 academic year is September 8, 2026.
