EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION LOAN DISBURSEMENT TO SELF-SPONSORED STUDENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

The position on equity in HELB funding self-sponsored students in Kenya remains unclear since most studies on HELB loans are limited to government sponsored students. This paper provides empirical evidence on equity in HELB disbursements to self-sponsored students in Kenyan public universities. The study targeted 16,082 fourth year self-sponsored loan recipients in seven public universities before the enactment of the University Bill 2012. A sample of 536 loan recipients was drawn to provide data for the study. The Gini coefficients results show that HELB loan allocation was equitable with marginal variations. This is a good indication that HELB loan awards to self-sponsored students may bridge the gap that exist in access to higher education based on socioeconomic status.