Over 14,000 learners from needy and vulnerable families who sat their 2023 KCPE will now benefit from this year’s Elimu Scholarship programme which will sponsor their secondary school education.
Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Elimu Scholarship today, Education CS Ezekiel Machogu noted that the programme has previously supported 37,574 from a total of 95,016 applicants. So far, 52,000 have benefitted from the programme and 95,016 applied this year.
“So far, the programme has supported 37,574 learners from poor households across the country to transition from primary to secondary education. The additional 14,426 we are about to launch today means that the government is going to give hope to 52,000 learners across the country,” said Machogu, who added that the initiative is part of the government broader goal of 100 per cent transition.
The CS also revealed additional opportunities for high-achieving students, noting that all 2023 students who scored an A or A- qualify for the Equity Leadership Program, where they will earn a monthly stipend of Ksh40,000.
According to Machogu, the programme, currently in its fifth cohort of implementation, has already been tremendously transformative. He revealed that the first Elimu scholars sat KCSE in 2023 where 42 per cent (or 3,780) out of 9,000 qualified for university.
From the first cohort, 20 of them scored a mean grade of A Plain compared to 160 who scored a mean grade of A- in the 2023 KCSE. There were 350 candidates who scored a mean grade of B+.
“We are aware that most parents from all households, including the poorest and most depressed families, long to give basic education to their children. They long that their children should, one day, escape the terrible handicaps from which the parents and guardians have themselves suffered. This forces many parents and guardians to make enormous sacrifices to give their children the best education,” said Machogu.
He added that during the Financial Year 2024, the government will spend approximately Ksh4.5 billion to support a total of 43,000 needy and vulnerable learners across the 47 counties.
Also speaking at the luncheon, Basic Education Principal Secretary (PS) Belio Kipsang expressed confidence in the selection process, noting that the beneficiaries were indeed the most deserving.
“We visited the homes of beneficiaries, and we are sure that those who are here and those who have gone to school are most deserving. The demand for these scholarships remains high. Our applicants for the Elimu Scholarship were more than 93,000, and we have managed to take care of less than 15%,” Kipsang stated.
The Elimu Scholarship is a collaborative effort between the government and the Global Partnership for Education under the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) project. The initiative aims to bridge educational gaps, particularly for learners from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
By Education News reporter
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