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{
    "id": 88171,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/88171/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 300,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the allocation for HELB for the Financial Year 2010/2011 is about Kshs2.9 billion out of which Kshs2.7 billion is to be loaned to the students. The balance of Kshs200 million will be used towards administration and operation costs. Last Financial Year 2009/2010, the allocation was Kshs1.5 billion out of which Kshs1.4 billion was to go towards loaning to the students and about Kshs100 million towards administration and operations. When I compare these figures with the figures I have just talked about which we are putting to the sectors of education; both higher and basic education, it is a very minimal fraction. This is why I am urging the Government to relook at budget provisions for both higher and basic education and increase this amount three times, so that we have enough funds for administration and operations. I am recommending that the operation of HELB be decentralised. This is because some of the students who are supposed to benefit from this scheme do not get information on what goes on. As a result they do not know where to go. Most times they do not know what is available to them. As a Member of Parliament, it took me a long time to know how the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) operates. You can imagine what happens to a student who is in the rural areas. Our country is vast. Think of the areas where we come from. There are areas which are far and communication is a problem. We are, therefore, lucky that we have come up with counties as administrative units in the country. I recommend that we decentralize the HELB so that many institutions, students and parents can access information about its roles and the help they can get from it. The amount of money given for administrative purposes, for example, Kshs200 million in this financial year has to be increased so that we can run these offices within a decentralized set up. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, giving loans to university students started between 1974 and 1975 although little amounts were given. However, todate, the loaning aspect of the Ministry has undergone a lot of transformation. I would like to stress that this was a very noble idea for those who accessed information on the operations of the HELB. The idea of decentralizing the operations of the HELB is meant to enable more students get more information and access the funding. The other thing I noticed about the HELB is its conditions. In its forms, there is a space where Assistant Chiefs and chiefs endorse that they know where the students come from. With computerization and the kind of information we have, as long as somebody is a Kenyan, he or she should access the loans from the HELB. Loans from this Board are meant for children of this country. If you want a document signed in a certain area, you will be asked to produce a biro pen and so on. This is the case and yet we are talking about people who cannot afford some of these things. These are the people we want to assist. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am happy that some sectors in this country are working. Many parts of this country are being connected to power under the Rural Electrification Programme. With computerization any eligible person, including those from well to do families, can cater for themselves. The loans from the HELB should be optional to those who can afford. That is how you make people responsible. It is in view of this that we should increase Government support to education so that our citizens can access it. That is why I found it necessary to bring up this Motion. I believe all Members of Parliament have had problems in their constituencies with regard to assisting students pay for their education, particularly higher education. The roles that will be played by the HELB, if we go by the new constitutional dispensation, will require men and women of high integrity. The roles will also require people who are well versed with education matters and problems that affect this country. We will also require people of credible reputation because we will deal with a lot of funds. I recommend that apart from decentralizing the HELB, it should also be restructured properly so that qualified and experienced people in this country can run it. We should restructure the HELB and strengthen it so that it can run on its own without interference from Government quotas. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, with those remarks, I beg to move and request Dr. Khalwale to second this Motion."
}