- WoK takes a look at foundations offering full scholarships to KCPE and KCSE candidates from needy backgrounds
Education is a major pillar in Kenya’s Big Four Agenda. Despite the provision of free primary education and subsidising of fees in tertiary institutions, a majority of Kenyans still struggle to afford to keep their children in school uninterrupted.
This is the reason why organisations, through their social corporate responsibility, provide scholarships for brilliant students who are needy. Some also provide scholarships for students who are gifted in sports-and other talents-regardless of their economic situation.
KenGen Foundation
KenGen is a state owned corporation that offers scholarships annually across the country. The company began offering scholarships in 2005 and has since put thousands of kids through school. Each year, they select the most needy and most deserving students.
They offer scholarships for top performing KCPE and KCSE students. Half of the scholarships go towards high school education and the other half to university education. They target bright and needy students in communities that stay around KenGen’s power stations.
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Strathmore University Foundation
The foundation is fully owned by Strathmore University. It offers students who have performed well in high school a chance to pursue courses at the institution. It also offers opportunities for top Mathematics contest students, sports gifted students and bursaries for needy students.
The Jomo Kenyatta Foundation
This is one of the oldest scholarships in the country having been established in 1968. It is aimed at providing access to education for bright but needy students in public boarding secondary schools.
To qualify, one must:
- Have studied in a public primary school and attained 350 marks and above
- Be an orphan from an extremely needy family
- Be set to join form one
- Be disciplined
- A Kenyan boy/ girl
Anyone is eligible to apply once the KCPE results are out.
Canadian Harambee Education Society Scholarships
This is a scholarship targeted towards helping girls get secondary education. They raise funds for Kenyan and Tanzanian girls to go to secondary school and where possible send them to boarding school. They aim at empowering women and offer aid to those qualified to join high school but unable to because of finances.
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KCB Foundation Scholarships
They provide scholarship and learning materials for bright but needy students. The objectives of the scholarship is to increase access to education for the underprivileged, and increase transition rates from primary to secondary school.
They target about 240 pupils annually, 40 of whom have physical disabilities. The applicants must:
- Come from a needy family
- Attain the prescribed cut off county marks in KCPE
- Have a calling letter to a school
Equity Group Foundation
The Wings to Fly scholarship by Equity is one of the most popular in the country. It targets students in all counties across the country who have performed well in KCSE but are unable to pay fees.
They provide their beneficiaries with transport, school fees, books and pocket money. Since its inauguration in 2011, they have helped thousands gain access to education.
They also sponsor victims of civil war and children whose parents have serious ailments. The applicant considered for the sponsorship is vetted then verified by the local community leaders.
USIU Africa Foundation
United States International University is often considered among the top private universities in the region. They offer either full or partial scholarships to students who graduate from high school based on merit.
Students who graduate top of their class with excellent results and children of civil servants who perform well are eligible for partial scholarships.
People from marginalized communities living in arid and semi arid areas and person’s living with disabilities are eligible for full scholarship. They too must perform well and show leadership skills.
Ambassadors’ Girls Scholarship Program (AGSP)
They provide scholarships to girls across Africa who come from economically disadvantaged families. AGSP sponsors girls through primary and secondary school.
Disabled girls, orphans and those adversely affected by HIV/AIDS are given special focus.
The scholarship package may include the following:
- School fees
- Uniforms
- School supplies like books
- Personal supplies
- Transportation
Cooperative Bank Foundation Scholarships Kenya
Co-operative Bank offers full school fees scholarship to gifted but needy students from across the country. They take learners through all the four years of education and also offer university scholarships for the best performing students in each region.
Eligibility:
- Above 350 marks in KCPE
- Must be from a needy family
- One parent must be (or for orphans must have been) a member of Co-operative society
As long as the fees per year does not exceed Sh50,000, both private and public secondary schools are eligible for scholarship.
Elimu Fund Scholarships
Elimu Fund was launched in 2005 with an aim of providing scholarships for needy students and orphans unable to afford education. They must show excellence in academics and a need to pursue education.
