Senior officials at the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) have been diverting funds meant for university students into non-student accounts.
Senior employees allegedly own the accounts, but they registered them under different user names to avoid suspicion.
Documents show that the body has been running the scheme for a while now, and the accounts are always among the first ‘Batches’ to receive funds.
Reports indicate that favoritism is also rampant among HELB officials’ kin, relatives, friends, and colleagues who have students in higher learning institutions receiving higher allocations.
The move comes after Kikuyu Town Mp Kimani Ichung’wah said, “We propose that students benefiting from government bursaries start repaying once they begin working, just like HELB loans, to create a revolving fund for future students.”
However, university life is still pathetic, with student protests every week from different universities.
The strike by students at Multimedia University in Rongai is not surprising. They have not had water for months.
The university hasn’t paid lecturers, and some arrears are running into years. Some are still asking for COVID-19-era salaries and allowances. The university operates on a negative ledger.
