The Higher Education Student’s Financing Board (HESFB) has informed the public of the suspension of the student study loan for the academic year 2023-2024 due to financial constraints.
According to Michael O. Wanyama, the Executive Director at HESFB, the board will not receive applications for the study loans for the academic year 2023-2024.
“Due to budgetary shortfalls, the board will not receive applications for stu
dy loans for the academic year 2023-2025,” read part of the statement.
However, according to Wanyama, the board will continue to facilitate in-study loan beneficiaries as they engage stakeholders for resource mobilisation to resume supporting new allies of student loans in the financial year 2024-2025.
HESFB has been operating since 2014 in a bid to increase access to Higher Education and support highly qualified Ugandan students who may not be able to afford it.
The Board has so far supported 13,405 beneficiaries (11,393 Undergraduate Degrees and 2,012 Undergraduate Diplomas) in programmes mainly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), except for Learners with Special Needs who can access study loans to pursue all programmes of their choice, including all Humanities programmes.
Currently, these programmes are offered at 22 Chartered universities, both public and private, and 36 Other Tertiary Institutions (OTIS).
