Relief for jobseekers as HELB waives Sh1,000 certificate fee for non-beneficiaries
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has waived the Sh1,000 fee previously charged to non-beneficiaries to acquire a Compliance Certificate.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Charles Ringera, yesterday said it will stop charging non-beneficiaries to acquire the certificates that can be accessed from the Board’s website and at the e-citizen portal. The order is effective July 15.
“During various stakeholder engagements where HELB seeks feedback on citizen service delivery, it has repeatedly come to our attention that the charges for non-loan Compliance Certificate are perceived to be punitive, especially to the many unemployed youth who did not benefit from the student loans,” Ringera said in a statement.
HELB has been issuing Compliance Certificates to non-beneficiaries of student loans at a fee of Sh1,000 to defray the cost of the certificate and other administrative expenses.
He said the expected impact of waiving payment of compliance certificate fees include motivation for Kenyan youth to seek their HELB Compliance Certificates as they seek jobs or opportunities.
Issues raised
He said the waiver is towards creating goodwill and promotion of HELB products among Kenyans as they seek Compliance Certificates.
Ringera said that some of the issues that Kenyans have raised include unemployment and under-employment challenges, slow economic growth and escalated cost of living and retrenchment and downsizing affecting all sectors exacerbated by coronavirus pandemic.
“Given the foregoing issues raised by Kenyans, HELB has stopped charging Sh1,000 for issuance of the Compliance Certificate with effect from July 15, 2020,” Ringera stated.
Issuance of Compliance Certificate is premised on Chapter VI on Leadership and Integrity of the Constitution, which requires all persons applying for public jobs to present specific compliance certificates as part of the interview process.
HELB is one of the listed institutions from which interviewees seek compliance certificates.
Ringera said the HELB compliance certificate enables institutions to assess individuals applying for jobs on their credit worthiness.
“Having fully repaid or currently repaying their loans indicates good personal financial planning and can be trusted with organisational assets and other resources,” explained Ringera.
He said the certificate also assists in assessing social responsibility.
