5,900 students benefit from Co-op Bank scholarships

Co-operative Bank Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. Gideon Muriuki.

Nairobi, Kenya: Co-operative Bank Board of Directors released the final list of selected beneficiaries of this year’s annual intake of 655 gifted but needy students from across the country who will join Co-operative Bank Foundation Scholarship Scheme.      

This year’s intake of 655 Form One beneficiaries stands as the largest secondary education scholarship scheme in Kenya today.         

“Of the 655 new scholarships to Form One students, 420 were awarded by the bank’s Regional Delegates’ Forums and the remaining 235 scholarships, at 5 per county, awarded by County Governments in all the 47 counties” the bank’s Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. Gideon Muriuki said.

Additionally, the bank is educating a total of 159 students, selected from the top performing beneficiaries of the secondary school scholarships, through their entire university education.

Following this year 2018 intake, the Co-operative Bank will have provided full education sponsorship to 5,899 deserving Kenyans, of whom 4,110 will have gone through secondary education and 140 university studies.

The scholarships are awarded on merit to gifted but needy students from all regions of Kenya.

Commenting further on this program, Dr. Gideon Muriuki said, "Our scholarship beneficiaries are selected at the grassroots level by Co-operative Societies across the country through a well-established national delegates system.

Co-operative Societies, who are the face of Kenya, identify well-performing students from disadvantaged backgrounds and bring these names into a regional forum where delegates debate and select the most deserving cases.

“At the banks' head office, our role is to process payments to the schools and monitor the students’ performance through the four years in secondary school. The top 28 in the Form Four examination each year are granted an additional full scholarship for their university education,” Dr. Muriuki added.

Commenting on the reason why the bank has chosen education scholarships as its flagship Corporate Social Investment, Dr. Gideon Muriuki observed that education is one of the most expensive items in any household budget and yet has the highest potential to liberate people from poverty.

"Unless corporate institutions and all people of goodwill come together to support initiatives within the education sector, brilliant but needy Kenyans will never realise their full potential. Being poor does not mean that one isn't bright or has no potential. A large number of Kenyans holding positions of responsibility today were educated with loans from the Co-operative Movement.  It is for this reason that the Co-operative Bank, being the premier co-operative institution in Kenya, has taken the lead in this area.”

Co-operative Bank provides full school fees scholarships for the entire four years of secondary education. University scholarships are awarded to the best performing students from each region.

The scholarship program was launched in 2007.