HELB receives over 4,600 appeals from university students
HELB has processed over 109,000 funding requests from new students that had been delayed due to a High Court ruling in December 2024, which temporarily halted the new funding model.
Thousands of university students across the country have submitted appeals regarding their government funding allocations under the new financing model.
A total of 4,621 appeals were recorded by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) by Thursday, following the reopening of the appeal portal on April 1.
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With the deadline for submitting appeals set for April 21, students now have only a few days to challenge their funding categorisation.
The appeals system, which has been expanded in line with a Court of Appeal ruling, allows students to submit multiple reasons for their dissatisfaction, a significant change from the previous process, where only one reason was allowed.
HELB Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari explained the changes to the process, stating that the system is now more flexible, allowing students to provide a broader range of reasons for their appeals.
“Previously, students were required to give only one reason for their appeal. Now, they can submit multiple reasons," Monari said in an interview with The Standard.
The revisions to the appeals process came after a ruling by the Court of Appeal in March, which instructed that public participation be included in the process.
"The court ordered us to carry out public participation and incorporate feedback to improve the appeals mechanism. We have implemented these changes," Monari said.
The current appeals process will evaluate students’ cases based on new information not submitted during the initial application.
Eligible grounds for appeal include loss of a parent, chronic family medical conditions, or disability.
Other factors, such as financial hardship or having siblings also in higher education, can also be grounds for reconsideration.
As of now, HELB has processed over 109,000 funding requests from new students that had been delayed due to a High Court ruling in December 2024, which temporarily halted the new funding model.
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