Lubao FM News 
Family Group Foundation has committed to spend KES 40 million on scholarships for students from needy backgrounds joining form 1 this year.
The funds, channelled through the Family Group Foundation High School Scholarship Program, will benefit 220 students from 14 priority counties to access secondary school education.
The minimum entry point to the scholarship will be 350 marks attained in the 2021 KCPE exams. The scholarships will cater for both tuition and upkeep for the beneficiaries.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, a total of 1,225,693 pupils enrolled for the 2021 KCPE exams. However, in the past four years, nearly 200,000 pupils who have sat for the KCPE examinations failed to proceed to secondary schools mostly due to poverty-related reasons.
The counties that will benefit include Bomet, Bungoma, Kisumu, Kajiado, Kiambu, Laikipia and Mombasa. The others are Meru, Muranga, Makueni, Nyeri, Nakuru, Nyandarua and Uasin Gishu.
Family Group Foundation Executive Director John Waimiri revealed that the beneficiaries will be primarily selected, interviewed and recruited through a participatory approach involving a County-based Scholarship Selection Panel.
The panels comprise of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, County Government and Children’s Services Department. The panel will also have representatives from Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KSSHA), Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) and faith-based leaders in the counties.
To date, the Foundation has invested over KES 200 million in the education sector through scholarships to over 800 students and through the continued support towards inclusive education for children living with autism.
