HESFB Students Loan | The Higher Education Students’ Financing Board

The Higher Education Students’ Financing Board Loan

The purpose of the funding

Loans are provided majorly;

  1. To increase equitable access to Higher Education for all Ugandans
  2. To support qualified students who cannot afford Higher Education
  3. To ensure regional balance in Higher Education services for all Ugandans
  4. To develop and support programmes which are deemed critical to national development
  5. To ensure a sustainable revolving loan Fund

Eligible programmes

The student’s loans scheme shall offer financial support to brilliant but needy students pursuing accredited programmes at the following education levels:

  1. Diplomas
  2. Undergraduate programmes

NB: HESFB shall determine the courses/programmes for funding on annual basis in line with the National Development Priorities and the available resource envelope.

Application for funding
An advert shall always be placed in the national newspapers of national coverage annually soliciting applications from eligible students.
Application forms for the Loans and/or Scholarships shall be completed and submitted to HESFB in a manner defined by the advert.
All applications shall attract an application fee determined by HESFB currently at UGx. 50,000/-.
Evidence of payment for the application fees shall form part of the application.
Loan Application Requirements All completed application forms shall be accompanied with:
i. 3 coloured pass port size photographs
ii. Acceptable valid form of Identification which can be (National ID, Passport, Driver’s License, Voter’s Card, School ID, NSSF Card).
iii. Bank slip confirming payment of the Application fee
iv. Academic Certificates / pass slips
v. Birth Certificate
vi. Admission letter to HEI vii. CRB / Financial Card [mandatory]
viii. Sketch map to applicant’s home of origin.

Funding scope
The financial support (Loans/Scholarship) shall cover:
i. Tuition fees
ii. Functional fees
iii. Research expenses
iv. Aids and Appliances for PWDs

Pricing
Loans shall be repayable with interest.
The interest shall be determined and defined by HESFB. Scholarships shall not be repayable, except where a student:
i. Abandons the course without reasonable cause
ii. Changes a course
iii. Fails to comply with any other terms and conditions of the scholarship.

Loans
a) Repayment:
A loanee shall start repaying the loan together with the applicable interest one year after the study period, on gaining employment. The one-year-after-study period is called the Grace Period. The loan shall be repaid over a period equal to the study period as defined in the admission letter. On completion of the study, the loanee shall make contact with HESFB to pick the loan repayment schedule.

b) Early Repayment
HESFB shall allow loan repayment before the due date (even during the study period) as this reduces the financial burden on the student in terms of the loan and applicable interest. Interest shall be charged on only outstanding loan amounts.

c) Loan Period
The loan period for purposes of this manual shall mean, the predetermined period within which the borrower is expected to complete repayment of the loan and the applicable interest. This period for purposes of the Students Loan Scheme, shall be twice the borrower’s study period plus the Grace period.

d) Loan repayment period:
The loan repayment period shall be the period within which the loanee is expected to complete repayment of the loan and the applicable interest, and is equal to the study period of the programme/course respectively.

e) Grace period:
Undergraduate loans are permissible to be offered a grace period, which is a 12-month period commencing after the study period. The period is given to enable the loanee re-organise/settle or transit from student to working life.

The obligation of the loanee:
A loanee shall be required within one year after completion of studies:
i. To inform the HESFB of their new contacts/address
ii. To inform HESFB of their plans to commence repayment of the loan and the applicable interest.
iii. To execute a loan repayment schedule with HESFB.

Obligations of an employer of a loanee:
An employer shall be required upon engaged of a loanee:
i. To inform HESFB of the engagement in writing
ii. To deduct and remit to HESFB the loan amount and applicable interest due/outstanding from the loanee’s remuneration.

See Loan Requirements here

See the Approved Public and Private Schools for the Application

HESFB Loan Coverage & Disbursement

For further information please follow this link to start the scholarship application

APPLY NOW

For additional support, use the contact information below;

Contact Us

Higher Education Students Financing Board(HESFB)

P.O Box 16810, Wandegeya, Kampala-Uganda.

Tel: office +256414255300

E-mail:  info@hesfb.go.ug

See related HESFB pages here