Equity scholars to get Harvard University scholarships

Equity Group Bank CEO James Mwangi (seated) with some of the scholars of Equity Bank's 'Wings to Fly' programme at the Bank's headquaters in Nairobi. The CEO welcomed the scholars who all scored A plain in the just concluded KCSE and inducted them into Equty Group Mentorship programme. [Courtesy, Standard]

 

Two Kenyan students who pass their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams will from next year be awarded full scholarships to study at Harvard University, in the US, under Equity Group’s Wings to Fly scholarship programme.

Equity Group CEO James Mwangi disclosed that Harvard University had accepted the proposal in honour of late Kenyan scholar Prof Calestous Juma, who was a lecturer at the university until his death last week.

He disclosed the details yesterday during a breakfast meeting held at the bank’s headquarters in Upper Hill to celebrate nine beneficiaries of the bank’s Wings to Fly scholarship programme who scored straight As in the 2017 KCSE results.

Nine Wings to Fly beneficiaries scored straight As while 107 scored A minus in the in the 2017 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination. The nine were among 1,309 Wings to Fly scholars who qualified for university entry grade of C+ and above, representing 68.9 per cent of the 1,899 who sat the exam compared to the national qualifying rate of 11.5 per cent.

The Wings to Fly scholars were treated to a breakfast event hosted by Mwangi, who is also Equity Group Foundation’s Executive Chairman.

“You are distinguished because you have demonstrated your commitment, strength, and determination to move forward. As you join the Equity Bank Paid Internship Programme, we look forward to growing and enhancing this relationship for you to become even better members of the society,” Mwangi told the scholars.

Further, he said that the outstanding performance that the scholars have demonstrated over the years was a motivating factor for other partners to join the programme.

Mwangi announced that the nine scholars together with the other 133 who scored A nationally plus the 107 Wings to Fly scholars who scored A minus, will join the Equity Bank paid internship programme.

Also, top boy and girl with an A minus from each sub-county where Equity Bank has a branch will be recruited into the internship. The scholars will earn about Sh450,000, before they join university.

The 1,309 students who have qualified to join university this year will bring the total number of Wings to Fly scholars who have attained the minimum university entry grades to 6,778 since the inception of the programme.  To date, the Wings to Fly programme has offered a total 14,168 secondary scholarships to needy but bright pupils across the country of whom 8,144 have completed secondary education.

Maxwell Ojiambo, one of the beneficiaries from Kanga High School who scored 81 points said that the programme had enabled him focus in school without worrying about school fees.