Equity Group Foundation has today commissioned 1700 Wings To Fly scholars as they join various secondary schools across the country to further their education.The Wings to Fly Program, which has so far benefited 14,368 deserving students, will see the eighth cohort of 1,700 students this year get full sponsorship for the four years of study in various secondary schools funded by The MasterCard Foundation with support from KfW and Equity Bank.
Presiding over the event, CS Dr. Fred Matiangi hailed the program for playing a critical role in supplementing the government’s efforts in providing education for all saying “The Wings To Fly program has transformed many lives since its inception and as a government we recognize the complementary role this program has played to support us to educate needy and bright students. ”
The comprehensive secondary school scholarships covers tuition fees, books, school uniform, accommodation, pocket money, transport costs among other expenses. Dr. Matiang’i also launched the 2017 Equity Bank Paid Pre-University Internship Program for the 2016 Wings to Fly graduates who scored an A and A- (minus). The Equity Bank Paid Pre-University Internship Program enables the scholars to pay for their University Education while undergoing leadership, coaching and mentoring. This year 569 Scholars will join the Program. They comprise of 286 scholars from the Wings to Fly program and 150 top boy and girl from each district in Kenya where Equity has a branch, who attained a minimum score of A-. The total number of scholars who have benefitted from the Equity Bank Paid Internship are 5,059.
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Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman, Dr. James Mwangi reiterated that there are many needy students who require the necessary support in order for them to pursue their dreams.“This year alone, we received over 25,000 applications from students who are unable to afford secondary school but were only able to award 1,700 scholarships. Although we strive to offer opportunities to the most deserving cases, we still feel that there is need for more collaboration between various stakeholders to achieve the dream of universal quality education in the country,” Dr. Mwangi said.At the same time, Reeta Roy, President & CEO, The MasterCard Foundation called upon the students to embrace the spirit of discipline, hard work and tolerance in order to be successful in life.
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