Thursday, March 21, 2024 - The National Assembly Committee on Education will be tabling a report in Parliament that seeks to institute hefty penalties for loan guarantors seeking to stand in for a student who has defaulted on their Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loans.
The Committee
reviewed the draft report on the HELB Amendment Bill 2022, which seeks to amend
several provisions of the HELB Act 1995.
One of
the proposals in the bill, sponsored by Machakos Woman Representative Joyce
Kamene, provides that a student can request a guarantor to guarantee any loan
issued to them.
This
acts as security in case the student defaults, the guarantor is liable to pay
the amount together with the interest accrued.
However,
the provision also stipulates that if a guarantor is notified of payment and
either fails or declines to repay the loan and interest, the guarantor shall be
guilty of an offence.
The bill
also proposes a jail term not exceeding three years or a Ksh10,000 fine in
addition to the loan.
The bill
also seeks to scrap the age limit to allow students below 18 years to access
financing for their education.
In the
current provisions, students ought to be at least 18 years old and have an
Identification Card to qualify for a HELB loan.
The
change would, however, require the students to have their parents or guardians
co-sign the loan agreement.
While
reviewing the report, the Committee also received submissions from the Ministry
of Education, the Kenya Law Reform Commission, the Office of the Attorney
General and the public.
The Committee
will table the report in Parliament for consideration.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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