Higher Education Students' Loans Board is a government agency established through Act No. 9 of 2004 whose main objectives are to issue loans to higher education students and to recover the said loans for re-lending to other needy Tanzanian students.

Higher Education Students' Loans Board is located at TIRDO complex, along Kimweri Road -Msasani Dar es Salaam. The Central Zone office is located on Plot 14, Block II along 6th Street at Dodoma and Zanzibar Zonal Office is located along Malawi Road, Kijangwani Street, Zanzibar.

Any student who is needy (that is a person who has no financial assistance from any other sources to cover his/her education costs). He/she must be a Tanzanian by nationality and should have been admitted to an Accredited Institution of Higher Learning to pursue either Advanced Diploma or a Degree. Moreover, he/she must have made a written application to the HESLB by filling-in required forms and submitted them within the specified time frame.

The Higher Education Students'  Loans Board Act No. 9 of 2004, specifies loanable items as follows:

1. Meals and accommodation charges
2. Books and stationery expenses
3. Special Faculty Requirements
4. Field Practical Training expenses
5. Research expenses; and
6. Tuition fees

All accredited higher education institutions which have been licensed to offer courses which lead to attainment of Degrees and /or Advanced Diplomas, both government and privately owned institutions.

An eligible student applicant is supposed to fill-in specific forms online through Online Loan Application Sytem (OLAS) and send them to the HESLB within a specified time frame. A non-refundable application fee of Tsh. 30,000/- should be deposited to the HESLB using mobile money payment (this applies to first time loan applicants). OLAS forms can be accessed through http://olas.heslb,go,tz or through HESLB website at www.heslb.go.tz

Every loan beneficiary is liable to repay his/her debt immediately after completion of the course or termination of his/he studies. Loan beneficiaries, who secure employment, should arrange with the employer to ensure remittance to the Board for a period not exceeding ten years. Loans beneficiaries who engage in self-employment should also make necessary arrangements to inform the Board and remit the amounts Board's Bank Account No. 2011100205 maintained by the National Micro-finance Bank or Account No. 01J1028467503.

Huu ni mfumo wa kuchambua na kubaini uwezo wa kiuchumi wa mwombaji mkopo. Ni mfumo wa kompyuta ambao umetengenezwa ili kupokea taarifa na kuzichambua kulingana na vigezo vilivyopo na hatimaye kutoa matokeo juu ya uwezo wa kiuchumi wa mwombaji. Zoezi la kung’amua uwezo wa kiuchumi wa mwombaji hufanywa kwa kutumia taarifa za mwombaji mwenyewe alizotoa katika fomu ya maombi ya mikopo. Matokeo ya zoezi hili hupanga viwango vya mikopo kwa wanafunzi wanaostahili kupatiwa mikopo.

Wanafunzi wa mwaka wa kwanza hupewa mikopo kwa ajili ya chakula na malazi kwa siku hamsini (50) za mwanzo kupitia Wahasibu wa vyuo husika. Hii ni kwa sababu Bodi inakwepa kupoteza fedha wakati ambapo mwanafunzi husika anakuwa hajaripoti chuoni. Utaratibu huu unasaidia kuhakikisha kuwa malipo yanafanyika kwa wanafunzi walioripoti chuoni na kusajiliwa tu na fedha za wale wasiokuwepo hurudishwa kwenye Bodi. Malipo mengine yanayofuata hulipwa kupitia akaunti za Benki za wanafunzi.

Mikopo yote iliyotolewa na Bodi kwa Wanafunzi wa elimu ya juu kuanzia mwaia wa masomo 2011/2012 ina riba ya asilimia sita kwa mwaka. Kwa sababu hiyo, kila aliyenufaika na mikopo kuanzia mwaka 2011/2012  atalazimika kurejesha mkopo pamoja na riba ya asilimia sita kwa mwaka.

Nyaraka zifuatazo zinapaswa ziambatanishwe pamoja na  fomu ya maombi ya mkopo na kila mwombaji. Nyaraka hizi ni muhimu kwani huisaidia Bodi kuthibitisha taarifa za mwombaji wa mkopo. Nyaraka hizo zisipoambatanishwa huathiri zoezi la uchambuzi wa maombi ya mikopo.Nyaraka hizo ni :

1. Nakala ya cheti cha kuzaliwa  husaidia kuthibitisha uraia wa mwombaji
2. Nakala za vyeti vya vifo vya wazazi husaidia kuthibitisha uyatima wa mwombaji
3. Nakala ya ripoti ya kitabibu husaidia kuthibitisha hali ya ulemavu wa mwombaji
4. Nakala ya vyeti vya kidato cha nne na sita husaidia kuthibitisha ufaulu wa mwombaji
5. Nakala za nyaraka kama vile barua ya Mtendaji wa kata, bima ya maisha, milki ya ardhi n.k

Ili kuongeza  idadi ya wanataaluma wa kutosha katika Taasisi za Elimu ya Juu  hapa nchini, kuna kiasi kidogo cha mikopo kwa ajili ya wanataaluma hao wanaochukua masomo ya Uzamili na Uzamivu. Waombaji wa mikopo wa masomo ya Uzamili na Uzamivu wanapaswa kutimiza masharti yafuatayo:

(i)                  Awe Mtanzania

(ii)                Mwombaji awe amedahiliwa katika Taasisi ya Elimu ya Juu hapa nchini

(iii)               Asiwe na chanzo kingine cha kugharamia masomo yake

(iv)              Anapaswa kujaza fomu za maombi ya mkopo

(v)                Awe na Shahada ya kwanza au Stashahada ya Juu kwa ufaulu wa Daraja la juu (kwa waombaji wa masomo ya Uzamili)

(vi)              Anapaswa awe mhadhiri katika Taasisi ya Elimu ya Juu inayotambulika nchini Tanzania

(vii)             Mwajiri anapaswa kusaini hati ya makubaliano baina ya Taasisi husika na Bodi

(viii)           Mwombaji anapaswa kuwa ameanza kurejesha mkopo wa awali iwapo tayari ni mnufaika wa mkopo wa elimu ya juu.