Nairobi County has commissioned a total of 1,283 Wings to Fly and Elimu scholarship beneficiaries who will form the 12th Wings to Fly and the 2nd Elimu Scholarship class respectively.
In total, 10,705 academically promising scholars from humble backgrounds who sat the 2020 KCPE examinations have officially been commissioned to join the Wings to Fly & Elimu Scholarship Programs.
Of the 10,705 scholars, 1,705 scholars will be joining the Wings to Fly Program while 9,000 will be joining the Elimu Scholarship program.
Equity Group, which has been at the forefront of championing secondary school education scholarships for eleven years now has so far offered comprehensive scholarships to a cumulative number of 37,009 scholars.
The application and selection process saw Equity Group Foundation receive a total of 114, 765 scholarship applications. 60,880 applications for the Wings to Fly Program and 53,885 applications for the Elimu Scholarship Program.
The two scholarship programs offer comprehensive scholarships which cover the scholars’ tuition, books, uniform, transport costs, and pocket money for the four-year period the scholars are in school.
During the tenure of their secondary school education, the scholars will also benefit from mentorship and leadership development thus equipping them with life skills that will transform them into impactful leaders in society.
The 2021 Wings to Fly scholarships have been funded by Equity Group, Mastercard Foundation, and the German Government through KfW. Wings to Fly Program was launched in 2010.
The Elimu Scholarship Program is supported by the World Bank-funded Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) and implemented by Equity Group. Elimu Scholarship Program was launched in 2020
The 2021 scholarships were awarded by the local Community Scholarship Selection Boards (CSSBs) for the Wings to Fly Scholarships and the Community Scholarship Advisory Board (CSAC) for Elimu scholarships.
The Selection Boards comprise of eleven to thirteen members and are chaired by the Sub-County Director of Education with support and coordination from the Equity branches.
Selection is done through a rigorous exercise that involves one-panel interviews with the scholars and their parents/guardians followed by home verification visits.
During the school closures last year, Equity Group Foundation with financial support from Mastercard Foundation facilitated all 13,790 Wings to Fly and Elimu scholarship beneficiaries with a solar-powered radio that has a lamp and a phone charging port enabling them to tune in to the KICD radio broadcast lessons and keep pace with their academics.
The scholars and an additional 817 students drawn from our TVET cohort also benefitted from a monthly stipend of Kshs. 4,000 for girls and Kshs. 3,500 for boys to ensure they could afford the necessities and keep them out of societal vices. The facilitation totaled Kes 428,376,430 and was complemented with weekly mentorship sessions.
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