Relief for job searching youth as HELB waives Ksh.1,000 compliance certificate fee

Relief for job searching youth as HELB waives Ksh.1,000 compliance certificate fee

Job searching Kenyan youth can now breathe a sigh of relief after the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) waived the Ksh.1,000 compliance certificate fee for non-beneficiaries.

HELB CEO Charles Ringera, in a public notice issued on Thursday, said the fee was found to be punitive especially to the unemployed youth who were not beneficiaries of the student loans.

“HELB has been issuing compliance certificates to non-beneficiaries of student loans at a fee of Ksh. 1,000 to defray the cost of the certificate and other administrative expenses,” read the notice.

“However, during various stakeholder engagements where HELB seeks feedback on citizen service delivery, it has repeatedly come to our attention that the charges for non-loanee compliance certificate are perceived to be punitive, especially to the many unemployed youth who did not benefit from the student loans.”

Mr. Ringera said the board, following engagement with stakeholders, cited three reasons for the decision namely: unemployment and under-employment challenges; slow economic growth and escalated cost of living; retrenchment and downsizing affecting all sectors which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Given the foregoing issues raised by Kenyans, HELB has stopped charging Ksh.1,000 for issuance of the compliance certificate with effect from July 15, 2020,” stated Mr. Ringera.

“The HELB Compliance Certificates will now be free of charge and can be accessed from the HELB website as well as the e-Citizen portal.”

Mr. Ringera further stated that the move is aimed at motivating Kenyan youth to seek jobs and opportunities to contribute towards nation building as well as to create goodwill and promotion of HELB products among Kenyans.

The compliance certificate is a requirement all persons applying for public jobs, as stated in Chapter VI on Leadership and Integrity of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, to enable the institutions to assess them  in areas of credit worthiness, social responsibility and integrity.

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COVID-19 HELB Charles Ringera

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