HESLB tells loan officers to submit students’ information on time

MWANZA: THE Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) has urged loan officers at higher learning institutions to ensure accurate and timely submission of student information to facilitate smooth processing and disbursement of loans and grants.

HESLB Executive Director, Dr Bill Kiwia said accurate student data, timely submission of information, proper use of ICT systems, effective communication with students and timely resolution of complaints remained critical to improving the loan application and disbursement process.

Dr Kiwia made the call recently while addressing a working session for loan officers from higher and middlelevel education institutions in Mwanza City.

He said challenges in these areas required closer collaboration between HESLB and higher learning institutions to ensure students received services efficiently.

He urged loan officers to ensure that information submitted to HESLB was accurate and complied with established procedures and guidelines.

Dr Kiwia said HESLB had continued to improve its systems and procedures for issuing loans and grants to make services more accessible, transparent and efficient.

Meanwhile, the government has increased the budget for higher education loans and grants to 1.06tri/- for the 2026/27 academic year, with at least 292,463 students expected to benefit.

Dr Kiwia said the increase marked two consecutive record-breaking years in terms of both the budget allocated and the number of loan and grant beneficiaries. For the 2025/26 academic year, the government allocated 916.7bn/-, benefiting 252,773 students.

“For the 2026/27 academic year, the government has allocated 1.06tri/-, with the number of beneficiaries expected to reach at least 292,463,” Dr Kiwia said.

He said the increase reflected government efforts to enable qualified young people to access higher education and acquire professional skills.

Dr Kiwia commended the minister responsible for higher education for leadership that had facilitated the continued increase in the budget for loans and grants.

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He also thanked HESLB Board of Directors Chairman Prof Hamisi Dihenga and board members for their oversight, which he said had enabled the board to effectively execute its mandate on loan disbursement and repayment.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner CP Salum Hamduni said the government remained committed to ensuring students accessed higher education through loans and grants, noting that the increased budget was expected to raise the number of beneficiaries in the 2026/27 academic year.

He said eight higher education institutions in Mwanza had 17,214 students benefiting from loans worth 54.8bn/- during the 2025/26 academic year.

The institutions are SAUT, CUHAS, IRDP Mwanza, TIA Mwanza, CBE Mwanza, IFM Mwanza, Mwanza University and DIT Mwanza. CP Hamduni said seven middle-level colleges, including Tandabui College, had 1,283 beneficiaries who collectively received loans worth 3.5bn/-.

“The number of students and the amount of funds disbursed to support them is significant and I believe that in the new 2026/27 academic year, this figure will rise due to the increased budget,” he said.