The President of the Republic of Kenya; William Ruto has made it known that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) will be dissolved. In its place will come the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) in a move that is expected to result in the improvement of the education system in the country.
The National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) will take in the funding for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) while also increasing funding by 45 percent when compared to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
In the words of President Ruto, “Instead of different funding systems, the government will establish the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) that will amalgamate the existing funding bodies.”
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The National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) will be tasked with putting bursaries together, securing grants as well as scholarships from public sponsors and private sponsors to cater to the non tuition expenses for students in university.
President Ruto stated that, “The new body will double the current HELB funds from KES 11 billion to KES 22 billion.”
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The President added that, “NSFC will further mobilize grants, bursaries, and scholarships from private and public sponsors to cover non-tuition costs.”
The move to end the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and put the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) in its place was as a result of a report put together by a task force that was created with the sole aim of reviewing the Competency Based Curriculum.
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The task force was given the mandate to suggest a governance and financing structure for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) training and development, tutoring, research, and university education.
In 1995 the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) was created and in charge of providing funds for Kenyan university students pursuing undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses in universities in East Africa that are recognized by the Commission for University Education.
President Ruto in addition to creating the National Skill and Funding Council (NSFC) made it known that the Government of Kenya will be employing 30,000 more Teachers for the basic education and 3,000 Teachers for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions so as to aid a seamless transition into the first Junior Secondary School level.
The Government of Kenya will be spending a total of 15 billion Kenyan Shillings on the equipping of seventy (70) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to aid in the training of learners and ensure that they are better prepared for the labour market.
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President Ruto revealed that, “We intend to use our education system to develop world-class human capital.”
He added that, “This is why, in January, we set out to hire more teachers to ensure that our primary to junior secondary transition is flawless.”
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