Firms give hope to bright, needy KCPE students

By WINSLEY MASESE

Thousands of bright but needy students who sat their KCPE examination in 2013 will now have a chance to continue with their education.

This follows announcements by  Equity Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank  that they will offer scholarships to needy students who would otherwise not afford the opportunity to continue with their studies.

Equity Bank will offer 2,000 scholarships to students who scored 350 marks and above out of the possible 500. Interested students have been advised to visit any of the bank’s branches for assistance.

Under its Wings to Fly programme, the scholarship will cater for school fees, books, uniform, transport, shopping and pocket money for the four years of secondary school.

Prospective applicants have until January 10 (Friday) to submit their applications.

“The programme defines social and economic vulnerability to include students who have lost one or both parents, students whose parents are living with HIV or chronic illnesses, families affected by disaster such as famine and all who are unable to educate their children,” the bank states on its website.

In a past interview, Equity Bank founder and chairman of the board   Peter Munga said the bank was not obsessed with profits but rather how many people it can help to come out of poverty.

“Education is the key to breaking the vicious circle of poverty,” he said.

Economically and socially marginalised pupils from districts where Equity has branches will benefit from the scholarship.

KenGen

KCB will offer scholarships to 200 students through the KCB Foundation.

Applicants are asked to attach their admission letters to national or provincial schools to their scholarship application letters.

The bank’s pass mark criteria varies according to individual counties but scholarships are being offered to students from all the 47 counties.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) also provides scholarships for students in areas where it operates.

KenGen has sponsored over 150 students in secondary school and more than 50 in public universities. Since 2005, the company has spent more than Sh13 million in scholarships to bright but needy students.

For thousands of needy students, these scholarships offer a glimmer of hope that their hard work will not go down the drain.