HESLB Student Loan Application Process and Eligibility in Tanzania

The application window

HESLB accepts applications through its Online Loan Application and Management System (OLAMS), reachable at olas.heslb.go.tz . For the 2025/2026 academic year, the Board's guidelines set the window from June 15, 2025 to August 31, 2025. HESLB opens a new window each year with similar mid-June-to-end-August timing, so check heslb.go.tz at the start of each academic year for the exact dates rather than assuming the previous year's window repeats.

General eligibility

To qualify for a bachelor's degree loan you must:

• Be a Tanzanian citizen not older than 35 at the time of application

• Hold admission into an accredited tertiary institution in Tanzania

• Submit a complete and correct application through OLAMS

• Have no formal or regular income from employment or an established contract, public or private

• Have completed the Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) or an equivalent qualification within the past five years (for the 2025/2026 cycle, that means 2021 through 2025)

If you previously dropped out or discontinued your studies and want to apply again, you must show proof that you repaid at least 25% of your earlier loan before HESLB considers a new application.

Extra criteria if you are a continuing student

Continuing applicants, which HESLB calls First-Time Continuing Applicants, must have examination results that qualify them to proceed to the next year of study, and their institution's loan officer must submit those results to HESLB on their behalf. If you are resuming after a break, you also need a resumption letter from your institution.

Guarantor and supporting documents

Every applicant needs a guarantor holding a National Identification Number (NIN), Zanzibar Resident ID, Voter's Registration card, or driving license. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need a birth certificate verification code from the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) or the Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCSRA), a death certificate verification code if a parent has died, a disability form endorsed by a district or regional medical officer, a Standard Corporate Sponsorship Form if a sponsor previously supported you, your Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) number if your household is registered as disadvantaged, or a Standard Orphans Centre Form if you came through an orphanage.

How HESLB decides who gets funded and how much

HESLB does not fund every accredited course equally. It groups programmes into three clusters that reflect national skills priorities.

• Cluster One: education in sciences, health sciences, engineering, petroleum studies, ICT, actuarial and data science, agriculture, and Kiswahili studies

• Cluster Two: basic sciences and lands/valuation sciences

• Cluster Three: humanities, business, and social sciences

HESLB also gives special weight to merit and to vulnerable groups, including orphans, students with unknown or imprisoned parents, TASAF-registered households, corporately sponsored students, and students with disabilities.

Rather than paying a fixed percentage of your fees, HESLB calculates a lump sum based on your established need, covering, in order, meals and accommodation, tuition, books and stationery, special faculty requirements, research costs, and field practical training. For 2025/2026, meals and accommodation is capped at TZS 10,000 a day for on-campus students, tuition at a maximum of TZS 3,100,000 a year, and books and stationery at TZS 200,000 a year.

How the money reaches you

Payments run through the HESLB Digital Disbursements Solution (DiDiS). Tuition goes straight to your institution's bank account, while meals, stationery, and other allowances go to your own bank account, released only after you sign off through DiDiS. Your parent or guardian also has to confirm your application details are correct, since Tanzania's cost-sharing policy on higher education expects families to contribute alongside the loan.

If your application is rejected or incomplete

HESLB flags incomplete applications rather than approving them outright, so check your SIPA account regularly during the review period for requests to submit a missing document or correct an error. Applicants disqualified for forgery lose eligibility for that academic year and face further legal consequences, so submit only documents you can verify as genuine.

A few practical details worth checking before you submit

Make sure the bank account number on your form is active and carries your own name, since HESLB uses it to pay allowances directly. Provide a mobile number you actually use, since HESLB sends progress and payment updates to it. If you hold a foreign secondary qualification, get it evaluated and approved by NECTA, NACTVET, or the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) before you apply, and declare the equivalent index number on your form.