NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12 – The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Universities Fund Board and TVET Funding Board will be replaced by the Tertiary Education Funding Authority if a new Bill sponsored by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah is passed into law.
The Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, proposes to give the new authority powers to mobilise funds for lending to students and trainees in tertiary institutions through the Tertiary Education Fund.
The fund would be financed through allocations by the National Assembly, investment proceeds and loan repayments.
The authority would also administer scholarships, maintain tertiary education funding data and recover loans from beneficiaries.
The Bill proposes that the authority mobilise funds from Treasury bills, bonds, concessional loans, government grants, savings schemes, unit trusts, commercial partners and other lawful sources.
It would also allow the authority to tap private capital and other sources of education financing, including domestic pension funds, collective investment schemes, sovereign wealth funds and climate finance.
The authority would also establish a savings scheme or product to receive deposits from people saving for tertiary education.
The Board of the authority would be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President and would include the Chief Executive Officer as an ex-officio member.
Other members would include Principal Secretaries responsible for university education and technical and vocational education and training, the Treasury Principal Secretary and four members who would not be public servants.
The Bill states that the chairperson and appointed board members would serve three-year terms and would be eligible for reappointment for one further three-year term, subject to satisfactory performance.
