When Univerity student leaders under KUSO umbrella protested against the delay in release of HELB funds in 2023. [File, Standard]
Revealed: Lawyers, doctors biggest HELB defaulters
National
By
Mike Kihaki and Irene Githinji
| Oct 31, 2025
Lawyers, accountants, doctors, and engineers are the top defaulters, in the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), it has emerged.
HELB chief executive Geoffrey Monari said at least 21,356 lawyers, 19,580 accountants, 16,065 doctors, and 12,014 engineers have not repaid their loans for the last ten years.
They are among 380,530 students who have defaulted on their HELB loans, amounting to Sh42 billion in unpaid debt.
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The statistics told two stories; one of responsibility and gratitude, the other of evasion and neglect.
“HELB’s challenge wasn’t merely financial; it was moral. We have three categories of defaulters. Those who have no means to repay but are willing to do so, those who want to pay but do not know how, and those who are not willing to pay despite being gainfully employed,” said Monari.
Monari further said only 20 percent of doctors are able to honour their loan repayment, 22,000 of engineers are repaying as well as 26,000 lawyers do pay.
He was speaking in Naivasha on Friday during a media workshop by Universities Fund.
Monari also said it takes nearly 10 years for a loan to move from the grace period into the default line.
“The cream part of the society is not paying. We send warning and notification letters several times,” Monari added.
“We are engaging with the professional bodies to help us push them to honour. When they are renewing their practicing certificate, they should repay their loans.”
In contrast, Monari noted, teachers had become the unexpected heroes of repayment.
The numbers painted a sobering picture with the very professionals leading the pack of loan defaulters.
"We celebrate our teachers for the good work. We must all remember that the future of one student depends on the repayment of another,” he said.
"They should also remind those they taught to lead from front."
Monari further noted that those who depended on loans were among those turning their backs on the system that had once lifted them.
“The Teachers Service Commission submits Sh200 million monthly from tutors as loan repayments. They are leading by example,” he said.
He noted that from the 79,000 recently employed teachers, the remittance has moved from Sh110 million per month to Sh200 million.
Out of 380,530 defaulters, about 109,000 loans have matured.
“We have even had to hand over some 83,571 accounts to debt collectors.”
The situation had escalated to the point where 124,640 beneficiaries were now listed with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).
“We have 83,571 hardcore loaners handed to debt collectors to recover the funds,” Monari emphasized. “Many of them are even in the diaspora.”
A total of 259,209 students had fully paid their loans, contributing Sh34 billion back into the education fund — a cycle of repayment that keeps future generations in school.
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