HELSB RECOVERS K194 MILLION FROM LOAN BENEFICIARIES IN 2024
The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board- HELSB- has announced a total of K194 million recoveries as at December 31st, 2024, surpassing its annual target of K170 million.
Speaking at a media breakfast in Lusaka today, HELSB Chief Executive Officer John Machayi says to date, the board has sponsored over 69,000 beneficiaries whose loans have matured but that currently, 18,404 are paying back the loans while only 247 student loan beneficiaries have successfully completed paying back their loans.
Dr. Machayi explains that 10,692 beneficiaries are paying back through government payroll, while 7,712 beneficiaries are employed in the private sector and are paying back through individual employers’ payroll systems.
And Dr. Machayi says despite challenges to get more beneficiaries to pay back the loans, the board continues increasing the numbers of student sponsorships, stating that in 2024, 37,094 students were given sponsorship from over 28,000 students in 2023.
He also says the board is currently supporting 1,476 students on scholarships in Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Mauritius, and Tunisia with Russia having the highest number of scholarships at 675 followed by Morocco at 480.
PN