The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) has exceeded its loan recovery targets for the three months from January to March 2026, signalling improved repayment discipline among beneficiaries and strengthening the board’s capacity to finance more students seeking higher education support.
In a statement issued yesterday, the board said it had set a monthly recovery target of Sh18.3 billion during the period, but collections consistently surpassed the target.
The board collected Sh20.4 billion in January, followed by Sh19.4 billion in February and Sh20.9 billion in March.
The improved performance has largely been attributed to increased awareness among loan beneficiaries who have begun repaying their loans voluntarily after completing their studies and securing employment or establishing their own businesses.
HESLB also credited employers for playing a key role by submitting information about employees who benefited from government student loans once they start working in their institutions. This cooperation has enabled the board to track beneficiaries and enhance loan recovery.
In addition, the strengthening of technological systems has helped improve efficiency, as integrated digital platforms now allow institutions to share information more easily, making it simpler to monitor borrowers and collect repayments.
Data from the board shows that 539,103 beneficiaries whose loans have matured received a total of Sh2.76 trillion. Out of this amount, the board has so far recovered Sh1.84 trillion from 403,917 beneficiaries who have already started repaying their loans.
However, 135,186 beneficiaries who collectively received Sh920 billion have yet to begin repayment.
The board’s performance for the current financial year has also remained strong. In the first nine months of the 2025/2026 financial year, HESLB collected Sh175.9 billion, equivalent to 106.6 percent of the Sh165 billion target set for the period.
For the entire 2025/2026 financial year, the board targets to collect Sh220.3 billion. Based on the current recovery trend, HESLB expects to surpass the goal and reach about Sh225 billion by the end of the financial year on June 30, 2026.
HESLB is a government institution under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, mandated to provide loans to students pursuing higher education and recover the funds once beneficiaries graduate and start earning income in either the public or private sector.
