Govt pumps 426.5bn/- into student loans

ARUSHA: THE Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) has disbursed 426.5bn/- in study loans to 135,240 students as part of the first allocation for the 2025/2026 academic year.

HESLB Executive Director, Dr Bill Kiwia said yesterday in Arusha that the beneficiary students include those who are pursuing undergraduate degree and diploma as well as recipients of the Samia Scholarship, in the form of loans and grants.

He said a total of 152bn/- has been allocated for 40,952 undergraduate students and 5,342 diploma students in various universities across the country.

“A total of 152bn/- will benefit 40,952 undergraduate students and 5,342 diploma students who have been allocated loans,” said Dr Kiwia.

He added that 615 students are beneficiaries of the Samia Scholarship grants worth 3.3 bn/-.

“These are new students joining various higher learning and mid-level institutions across the country,” he explained.

The HESLB boss added that other 88,331 continuing students in various universities nationwide have been allocated loans worth 271.2 bn/-.

“The government through HESLB is committed to ensuring Tanzanian students access loans for their studies on time so that they can enrol for studies in their respective higher learning institutions,” he said.

Dr Kiwia added that the board is still processing applications to finalise allocations and will announce additional phases soon, ensuring that loan beneficiaries can register and report to their respective institutions without delays.

He assured that the government has already disbursed funds to support both higher education and midlevel students, guaranteeing timely payments to all eligible loan and grant recipients.

This will enable students to register, attend classes and pursue their academic goals without financial obstacles.

In June, this year, the government announced a major move to expand access to higher education by allocating a record of 916.7bn/- in student loans for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Dr Kiwia said yesterday that the 916.7 bn/- allocated loans is set to benefit a total of 273,347 students.

Out of those, he said 99,300 will be first-year entrants for diploma, undergraduate degree and Samia Scholarship programmes, while 174,047 are continuing students who qualified after passing their previous year’s exams.

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“This budget has increased from 787 bn/- provided by the government in the 2024/2025 academic year, which benefited more than 245,000 students,” he emphasised.

He urged applicants for undergraduate and diploma loans, as well as Samia Scholarship beneficiaries for the 2025/2026 academic year to visit their SIPA accounts they used to apply for loans or grants to access important information about their submitted applications.

“The allocation of loans and the disbursement of Samia Scholarship funds to eligible students is still ongoing,” he said.