The selection process of recipients of the 2023 Wings to Fly scholarships has gathered steam in different parts of the country.
Equity Group Foundation (EGF) in partnership with Equity Bank and KfW the German Development Agency, Mastercard Foundation, USAID, UKAid, private institutions, and individuals will offer 1,000 comprehensive secondary school scholarships to bright children from poor backgrounds.
The beneficiaries will be selected from 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates who scored over 350 marks.
The commissioning of the 2023 cohort of Wings to Fly scholars is scheduled to take place on January 21 in Nairobi.
The Equity Group Foundation in collaboration with its partners has so far issued a total of 48,000 secondary school scholarships to needy students across the country.
According to the bank, the Wings to Fly scholarship selection will involve a rigorous community-based verification and monitoring process.
“The selection process is currently at the verification stage where members of the community who serve on the Community Scholarship Selection Boards across the country will review and scrutinize applications, carry out face-to-face interviews and home visits before awarding the scholarships to the most deserving scholars,” the bank said in a statement.
The community selection teams include Directors of Education, religious leaders, local administration leaders, representatives of Primary and Secondary School Heads Associations, and representatives of persons living with disabilities among other local leaders and are chaired by the Sub-County Director of Education and coordinated by Equity Bank Branches.
“The selection boards are mandated to select the program beneficiaries, tracking their academic performance and the general welfare of the scholars. It serves as the crucial link in ensuring objectivity in the selection process, making it possible to verify the case put forth by each applicant, and optimise for the need and potential of the selected candidates,” added the bank statement.
“The successful candidates from this cohort will increase the growing number of students who have been supported by the Equity Group Foundation's transformational scholarships. They will also play a vital role in transforming their communities and this country. We commend the selection teams and our teams who are working diligently to ensure that the selection and verification process is thorough, credible, fair and transparent,” said Dr James Mwangi, Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman.
He added that the beneficiaries will receive guidance and counselling during the four years of their high school through a mentorship program that involves scholar congresses where they get to interact with industry captains and school holiday programs.
“Our holistic approach to scholarship which includes mentorship and coaching is aimed at equipping these learners with the right tools required for them to be transformational leaders in society. This is what drives the success of this initiative,” said Dr Mwangi.
Since its inception, 17,820 scholars have joined the university under the Equity Leadership Programme (ELP) with 7,482 benefiting from Equity Bank Paid Internships while 3,262 have joined Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
761 of the ELP scholars have been privileged to secure admission on fully funded scholarships at leading global universities including Ivy League universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, and Cornel Universities.
