Higher Education Loans Board (helb) chief executive Charles Ringera. PHOTO/DIANA NGILA
By DAVID HERBLING, hdavid@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- Helb says recoveries from bailiffs grew by nearly a fifth to hit Sh245 million in the fiscal period ended June from Sh210 million a year earlier, when the plan to hire three debt collectors was piloted.
- The agency is currently appraising bids to hire an additional five debt collectors to smoke out loan defaulters who currently owe the agency a total of 9.7 billion.
The Higher Education Loans Board has set its sights
on defaulters living abroad after the debt collectors it hired two
financial years ago helped recover Sh455 million.
The agency said recoveries from bailiffs grew by nearly a
fifth to hit Sh245 million in the fiscal period ended June from Sh210
million a year earlier, when the plan to hire three debt collectors was
piloted.
Helb chief executive Charles Ringera said the
revolving fund is currently appraising bids to hire an additional five
debt collectors to smoke out loan defaulters who currently owe the
agency a total of 9.7 billion.
Most of the recoveries by debt agents were from
Kenya, Helb said, adding that most defaulters are holed up abroad and
need to be traced to pay their education loans.
“We are strengthening to add another four to five
and mainly targeting diaspora. It is now that our strategic posture is
pursuing these new growth markets,” said Mr Ringera in an interview with
the Business Daily.
“We are currently evaluating another set of debt collection companies and they should be on board by mid-October.”
There are currently a total of 85,364 loan cheats, Helb said.
However, Helb declined to reveal the identity of
the debt collectors and the commission they earn on recoveries, saying
the information is “confidential.”
Mr Ringera said the decision to hire more bailiffs
to recover debts from past students was informed by the performance of
the debt collectors during the inaugural two-year period.
The cash recovered from loan cheats last year represents 6.1 per cent of the total Sh4 billion collected by Helb.
The State agency is tightening the noose on loan
cheats to help plug a funding gap exacerbated by the growing population
of learners in need of student loans, and the expanded mandate of Helb
in higher education financing.
A total of 159,997 graduates have fully repaid their loans worth Sh12.3 billion, Helb disclosed.
Helb said it is currently supporting 81,000
freshers with loans worth Sh3.2 billion, while 150,000 continuing
students are gobbling Sh6.2 billion, and 3,000 post-graduate students
will be given loans worth Sh350 million.
A total of 132,233 beneficiaries are currently servicing loans amounting to Sh19.8 billion, according to Helb data
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