HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS’ LOANS BOARD (HESLB)

Historical Background

The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) was established under the Act No. 9 of 2004 and began its operations in July 2005.  Beginning from the late 1980s many countries in the world subscribed to the concepts of cost sharing and cost recovery in education. These concepts marked a radical shift from Article 26 of the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and particularly from Article 13 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which stated that:

• Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all.
• Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.
• Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.

Progressive introduction of free education at all levels was championed because education was considered as the chief facilitator for economic and social mobility in any society.

The policy of cost sharing and cost recovery in education is mainly based on concern for equity. It is argued that since tertiary graduates are the chief beneficiaries of higher education in terms of the huge lifelong benefits that accrue to them, it is only fair that they should bear at least part of the cost of their education.

HESLB Objectives

HESLB objectives include the following:

• To ensure sustainable revolving loans funds;
• To ensure equitable loans to technical and higher education;
• To ensure access to technical and higher education; and
• To deliver efficient and effective services to customers and stakeholders.

Despite the daunting challenges it faces, HESLB has so far done a commendable job in providing loans to deserving students. The loans provided by HESLB cover six items, namely, (1) Tuition fee, (2) Meals and accommodation, (3) Books and stationery expenses, (4) Special Faculty Requirements, (5) Field Practical Training and (6) Research Expenses.

For further information, please contact:
Higher Education Students’ Loans Board,
Tirdo Complex, Kimweri Road, Msasani,
P.O. Box 76068, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel (General) +255-22-266036/2669037
Fax: +255(022)2669039.
E-mail info@heslb.go.tz