Equity Wings to Fly Scholarship Starts Selection of Beneficiaries
The nationwide process of beneficiaries for the Wings to Fly scholarship program has commenced.
Students who are slated to enter Form 1 in February will have the chance to be selected and attend interviews.
Beneficiaries must have earned at least 350 points.
They should also come from financially struggling families.
On Tuesday, interested students and their parents or guardians appeared before the Community Scholarship Selection Boards.
William Makori, director of education for the county of Busia, stated that Equity’s selection process was ethical and confirmed that the CSSBs adhere to due process.
Prior to the beginning of the interviews, Makori interacted with the applicants’ parents and guardians.
“In Busia, 526 applications were received. Out of these, 60 children were shortlisted to attend the interviews,” Makori said on Wednesday.
They will have the opportunity to be selected for one of the eight Wings to Fly Program positions allocated to the Busia CSSB.
Each CSSB is comprised of prominent community members and is chaired by the subcounty director of Education.
Managers of Equity branch offices coordinate the boards.
“Do not be persuaded by anyone purporting to influence the selection process. The process is free and fair and you should not pay anyone claiming to influence the outcome,” he said.
Samuel Losuwat, the Lodwar head of the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association, praised the scholarship initiatives.
Losuwat, a member of the Lodwar CSSB, stated that it has a significant effect on communities, particularly on beneficiaries.
“We have seen professionals emerge from this program, something the students would not have realized without Equity’s intervention,” he said
58 individuals in Changamwe sub county were interviewed for the Wings to Fly scholarship.
James Mututa, chairman of Kirinyaga Kepsha, stated that Equity has allowed CSSB members to observe the program’s empowering of students.
Mututa stated, “This program affects the lives of young men and women by equipping them with the information and mindset for success.”
The program Wings to Fly is a collaboration between the Equity Group Foundation and Equity Bank.
The program also receives additional financial support from KfW, the Mastercard Foundation, USAID, UKAid, private institutions, and individuals.
Since 2010, the program has expanded to offer 20,000 scholarship opportunities.
The scholarship is a comprehensive secondary school scholarship program for pupils from all Kenyan counties who are academically brilliant but financially disadvantaged.
The scholarship program has reached its thirteenth year.
Members of the CSSB will visit the children who pass the interviews as part of the home verification process.
Before enrolling in high school, the 2023 Wings to Fly cohort will be selected to attend a centralized induction and be commissioned.
Equity Wings to Fly Scholarship Starts Selection of Beneficiaries
