Relief for unemployed youth as HELB drops certificate fee
Higher Education Loans Board applicants being served at the agency's offices in Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- Organisations often use the HELB compliance certificate to assess individuals applying for jobs.
- The certificate is one of the documents required when an individual applies for public jobs as provided for in Chapter VI on Leadership and Integrity of the Constitution.
- HELB says the move follows numerous complaints by job-seekers over the fee.
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has waived the Sh1,000 fee that Kenyans have had to fork out in order to obtain a compliance certificate.
This means the document will now be issued free of charge, signalling relief for job seekers whose resources are already limited.
The certificate is one of the key documents required when an individual applies for public jobs as provided for in Chapter VI on Leadership and Integrity of the Constitution.
Institutions often use HELB compliance certificates to assess individuals in areas such as credit worthiness, social responsibility and integrity.
HELB says the move follows numerous complaints by job seekers over the fee.
"During various stakeholder engagements where HELB seeks feedback on citizen service delivery, it has repeatedly come to our attention that the charges for the non-loanee compliance certificate are perceived to be punitive, especially to the many unemployed youth who did not benefit from the student loans," HELB chief executive officer Charles Ringera said in a statement.
He said Kenyans had complained of unemployment challenges, slow economic growth and escalated cost of living amid retrenchments and downsizing affecting all sectors, a situation which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Kenyans will now access HELB compliance certificates free of charge from the agency's website and on the e-Citizen portal effective July 15, 2020.
