HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS' LOANS BOARD
HESLB Tanzania
The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) is a body corporate established under Act No.9 of 2004 (as amended in 2007, 2014 and 2016) with the objective of assisting needy and eligible Tanzania students to access loans and grants for higher education. The main mandates of HESLB include: To assist, on a loan basis, needy students who secure admission in accredited higher learning institutions, but who have no economic power to pay for the costs of their education, To collect due loans from loan beneficiaries and use it as revolving fund to sustain operations of the Board and To create synergies through establishing strategic partnerships in student financing ecosystem.Online Loan Application and Management System (OLAMS)
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL LOAN APPLICANTS 2024/2025
Guidelines and Criteria for Loans Issuance - Bachelor’s Degree 2024/2025
- All loan applicants for Academic Year 2024/2025 are Required to observe the following:
- Read and follow application procedures stated in this Guideline;
- Ensure that the Form Four Index Number provided when applying for a loan matches the one used in your application for admission to University or College;
- Applicants who sat for the Form Four Examination more than once are required to list all Form Four Index Numbers;
- All documents submitted to support the application should be certified by-relevant authorities as specified in this Guideline;
- Ensure that all birth/death certificates are certified by the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA), or Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCSRA) to ascertain their validity;
- Applicants born abroad should obtain a letter from RITA or ZCSRA to vaIidate birth information. Applicants whose parent(s) died abroad should also obtaira letter from RITA or ZCSRA to validatwthe information provided;
- Ensure that the online loan application forms are dully filled and signed before submission
- Ensure that bank account details are correctly filled in the application form. The applicant’s name must match the bank account details.
- Applicants should provide a registered and reachable mobile phone number. The provided mobile phone,number will be used to inform the applicant on the loan application progress anlt payment process.
- All applicants must strictly observe the set loan application deadline.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
In accordance with the HESLB Act, the Board has set gerieral eligibility criteria to be considered in loan applications.General Criteria
- Must be a Tanzanian not older than 35 years at the time of appIication
- Must have admission into an accredited higher education institution in Tanzania
- Must have a complete and correct application through the Online Loan Application and Management System (OLAMS);
- Must not have a formal or regular income from employment or established contract in either public or private sector;
- Must have proof to have repaid at least 25% of any previous loan received from HESLB. This applies only to students who dropped or discontinued from studies;
- Must have completed ACSEE or other equivalent qualifications vfithin five (5) years, i.e. from 2020-2024 inclusive.
Specific Cñteria for Continuing Loan Beneficiaries (CLB) and First-Time Continuing Applicants (FTCA)
In addition to general eligibility criteria mentioned in 3.1 above, HESLB has set specific criteria for continuing students as follows: -- He/she must have passed the examination necessary to enable him/ her to advance to the following year of study,
- In case of resumption, he/she must have obtained a resumption letter from respective HEI,
- He/she must be a loan beneficiary who has not repeated a year of study more than once in the course duration,
- Must not postpone studies for more than two years consecutively in the course of studies,
- Must submit their National Identification Number (NIN).and Registration number before any disbursement is made to them in the third year of study through their SIPA Account.
RELEVANT DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT APPLlCATlON
- Birth certificate approved by relevant authorities, ZCSRA for applicants born in Zanzibar or verification number from RITA for applicants born in Mainland Tanzania;
- Death certificate to prove orphanage approved by relevant authorities, ZCSRA for applicants’ deceased parents in Zanzibar or verification number from RITA for applicants’ decpased parents in Mainland Tanzania;
- Self-Disability Form (SDF-1) endorsed by the District Medical Officer (DMO) or Regional Medical Officer (RMO);
- Parent Disability Form (PDF-2) endorsed by the District Medical Officer (DMO) or Regional Medical Officer (RMO);
- Standard Corporate Sponsorship Form (SCSF-3) to prove financial assistance received by the applicant during pre-university/college
- «schooling. SCSF-3 to be endorsed by the applicant’s corporate sponsor;
- Social Support Beneficiary’s number from Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF)
- Standard Orphans Centre Form (SOCF} to prove financial and.social assistance from childhood to the level of being admitted to higher learning institutions.
- A lever from RITA or ZCSRA to validate birth information for applicants born abroad, also a letter from RITA or ZCSRA to validate the information provided for applicants whose parent(s) died abroad.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
- HESLB may place special considerations on various applicant groups to ensure a balance in equity and national priorities. In view of this, resource allocation will be prioritized to vulnerable social economic groups and program clusters ranking as provided bellow.
- Social economic groups shall include; Orphans, Unknown parents, Household vulnerability such as TASAF or any other relevant national support schemes, Secondary school sponsorship, applicant and parent disability.
PROGRAMS CLUSTERS
All accredited degree programs shall be categorized into three clusters reflecting national priorities as defined-in the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) as detailed bellowCluster One programs
- Education in Science Subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Technical and Vocational Training;
- Health Sciences: (Doctor of Medicine, Dental Surgery, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing and Midwifery, Prosthetics, Orthotics, Physiotherapy, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Laboratory sciences, Radiotherapy Technobgy);
- Engineering Sciences: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Mining, Mineral and Processing, Textile, Chemical and Processing, Agriculture, Food and Processing, Automobile, Industrial, Maritime Transportation, Marine Technology, Electronics and Telecommunication, and Bio-Processing and Post-Harvest, Water and Irrigation, Aircraft Maintenance and Pilot Engineering
- Petroleum, Geology, Petroleum Chemistry, Oil and Gas
- ICT and Programming, Information Systéms Management;
- Actuarial and Data sciences;
- Agriculture, Forestry,AnimaI Sciences and Production Management;
- Bachelor of Arts in Kiswahili; and
- Education in Technical and Vocational Training.
Cluster Two programs
- Basic Sciences: Applied Zoology, Botanical, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Aquatic Environmental Sciences and Conservatioń, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Health,-Wildlife ańd Conservation, Environmental and Industrial Metrologyt and
- Lands and Valuation Sciences: Architécture, Langscape and Architecture, lriterior Design, Building Survey, Building Economics, Urban and Regional Planning, Land Management and Valuation and Geospatial Technology.
Cluster Three Programs'
- Humanities, Business Manağement and Social Sciences: Accountancy, Marketing, Finance, Ecoriomicš, Statistics, Environment, Community Developmerft, Social Welfare, Development studies, Sociology, Political Sciences, Arts, painting, creațive science, Music, Law and Legal Studies, Languages, Literature, Geography, Psychology, Anthropology, Ąrchaeoldgy, Media and Communications Studies.
- All new programs received by HESLB shall be included in the above- mentioned categories respectively.
LOAN ITEMS AND AMOUNTS TO BE ALLOCATED
Loan Items and Maximum Amounts- Successful loan applicants will be financed an amount equivalent to established neediness or as may be determined by the Board. The established maximum lumpsum will be distributed to loan items as per the following sequence; Meals and Accommodation (MA), Tuition Fee (TF}, Books and Stationery Expenses (BS), Special Faculty Requirements (SFR), Research Expenses (RES) and finally Field Practical Training (FPT).
Meals and Accommodation (MA)
- MA maximum amount will be calculated at TZS. 10,000.00 per day during on-campus training as per HEIs almanac for the respective academic year.
- The maximum amount of TZS 3,100,000.00 per annum may be granted based on comparable amount charged by public institutions.
- A maximum amount of TZS 200,000.00 per annum for Books and Stationery
- Subject to Means Testing results, applicant may be availed with Special Faculty Requirement (SFR) loans up to 100 o but only for study programs that require speciaI faculty requirements.
- HESLB may provide loans ta cover for Field Practical Training/Teaching Practical (FPT} allowance at the rate of TZS, 10,000.00 per day up to a maximum of 56 days in a year.
- HESLB may provide Loans for Research expenses to maximum of TZS 500,000.00 in selected fields of Health Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture.and Land Sciences.
- Loans to cover Research expenses for other programs will be provided to a maximum of TZS 100,000.00 in their final year of study.
PAYMENT MODE
- Payments for MA, BS, FPT, SFR,and RES items shall be made directly to students while TU shall be paid to the respective Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). All payments should be effected after the students’ acknowlegment.
- In the event a student does not sign or acknowledge receipt of the fund ontime, the loan shall be returned to HESLB after the éxpiry of 30 days from the date the transaction information was received at the Higher Edučation Institution and student notified through mobile phone. The amount RETURNED shall not be paid back to a student. However, the unpaid amount shall not be part of the beneficiary’s debt. Any subsequent payments must be confirmed by the respective HEI.
ÖTHER COIÑDITIONS
Liability of Guarantors and ParentsParents/Guardians and Guarantors are responsible for confirmation of the correctness and accuracy of information submitted in the application before signing. A guarantor for a loan may be a parent, guardian or relative or such other person who is legally accepted to be a guarantor or a person who is not a student loan beneficiary.
Guarantors are expected to ensure that loans are repaid and must be aware of the beneficiaries’ whereabouts unfil the loan is fuIIy repaid. In case of default, guarantors shall be responsible to settle the due unpaid loan in full. An applicant is required to append Guarantor’s passport-size photo ąnd a certified copy of one of thø following Identifications issued by Government authorities of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Revolutionary Government of.Zanzibar:-
- National Identification
- Voter’s registrațion card
- Driving License
- Tanzanian Passport;
- Zanzibar Resident ID
Loan Repayment
Upon completion of higher education studies, a loan beneficiary shall be required'to repay his/her loan in full or through monthly deductions of not less than 15% of basic salary/income or a sum not less than TZS 100,000.00 per month for beneficiaries in the informal sector. In case of termination of studies, the total amount received shall be repaid in full. All loans shall be subject to a one-time 1% administration fee on the principal amount.INTER-UNIVERSITY AND INTERNAL TRÄNSFERS
In the event a loan beneficiary transfers from one Higher Education Institution to another or shifts from one degree program to anothlr or within the same Higher Education Institution, the loan transfer will be executed upon receiving confirmation from relevant authorities.Transfers will not trigger upward changes on the initial loan amounts allocated to individual beneficiaries unless the student was transferred by authorities or as may be determined by the Board.