THE TREASURY ALLOCATES KMTC KSHS 500 MILLION TOWARDS HELB SPONSORSHIP

Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) students can now breathe a sigh of relief following the Government’s reinstatement of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) sponsorship program.

The College has received an allocation of Kshs 500 million in the 2024/2025 supplementary budget to support financially needy students.

“This means we will go ahead and ask the Treasury to release the funds. Once the money reaches our bank, which may take a few weeks, we will ask HELB to open the portal for students to apply,” said CEO Dr. Kelly Oluoch.

He noted that the absence of funding had placed a heavy burden on many students, making it difficult for them to continue with their training.

“This prompted us to engage extensively with key government bodies, including the Parliamentary Committee on Health and the Ministry of Health, to advocate for the reinstatement of the funding,” he added.

According to Dr. Oluoch, the College, through the Ministry of Health, appeared before various arms of the National Assembly, including the Pending Bills Verification Committee on January 29, 2024, and the Departmental Committee on Health on February 23, 2024, among others, to push for the reinstatement of the program.

In addition, the CEO, accompanied by Board Chairperson Mr. Joseah K. Cheruiyot, presented the matter to H.E. President Dr. William Ruto during the official opening of the KMTC Kerio Valley Campus on January 9, 2025.

“We are pleased to announce that our efforts have borne fruit. The Government has allocated Kshs 500 million for student loans in collaboration with HELB,” he said.

Since the program’s inception in the 2022/2023 Financial Year, 22,342 KMTC students have benefited.