An article published by satirical website Postamate.com claiming that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has promised to refund all the money it has collected for compliance certificates is FALSE.

According to the article, the financier of higher education in Kenya would refund double the amount it had ‘stolen’ from Kenyans as a ‘repentant move.’

Those eligible for refunds will start receiving their money back from September 2120, the post adds satirically.

However, the announcement made by HELB on July 16 on the waiver of the Kshs 1, 000 fee it chargers to process compliance certificate did not mention any refunds as claimed by the article.

Additionally, the waiver was not to the benefit of everyone as the article suggested. Rather, it was only targeted on non-beneficiaries of HELB loans seeking compliance certificates. The waiver is also already in effect since July 15, 2020.

According to the statement, the HELB compliance certificate enables institutions to assess the creditworthiness, social responsibility and integrity of job seekers before hiring them.

Previously, the requirement for a clearance certificate has applied to both beneficiaries of HELB loans and non-beneficiaries alike.

But according to HELB CEO Charles Ringera, the institution determined from various stakeholder engagements and citizen feedback that the charges for non-loanee compliance certificates were perceived to be punitive especially by many unemployed youths.

Mr Ringera said that the waiver would serve to “motivate Kenyan youth to seek their HELB compliance certificates as they seek jobs or opportunities to contribute towards building the nation.”

PesaCheck has looked into the claim that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has promised to refund all the money it has collected for compliance certificates, and finds it to be SATIRE.

This story  was produced by PesaCheck.