This is the time parents whose children performed well in the last KCPE exams are busy looking for scholarships and other ways of ensuring their kids do not miss a chance to get to secondary schools. In our nation we know of the famous wings to fly program facilitated by the Equity bank, though other banks like KCB and other entities like JKF have their own programs. Who is the right person to benefit from these programs? I know parents, primary school leavers and the society thinks it is everybody. In this article I would like to help someone to understand these programs.
The major factors that determines whether one will get sponsorship in these programs is the academic brightness and the level of destituteness in the family where the kid comes from. These programs are meant for people who cannot afford to cater for their studies despite performing well. The academic brightness is easily measured by the marks a child has. When it comes to destituteness several factors come into play and many of the applicants do not understand them, and as result end up wasting their time and resources making applications of scholarships they cannot qualify to get.
One measure of destituteness is financial ability. Many of the beneficiaries of these programs are people who cannot afford to pay for their high school fees. But, how will the providers of these scholarships know the parent is financially unable to pay the fees? One, when filling the application form, one either attaches identity card of the parent or guardians, or writes down the id number of the parent or the guardian. That id number is used to pull the CRB report of the parent or the guardian. In that report if one is found to be a good borrower and payer of loans like Mshwari and others, he or she is said to be financially able. So if you are a regularly borrower of Mshwari and especially of amount that can pay a fee for a day school, think twice before you apply. It is crazy to say in those CRBs of applicants parents, it is possible to find parents with loans of hundred thousand and yet they apply what is meant for the poor kids claiming they are unable to pay the secondary school fees.
Two, there is something called counter checking whether you are needy. The banks and other entities that provide scholarships are not fools as people think. The fact is, they do not call the people indicated on the form as referees or former school teachers. They have their own loyal clients in every village they can call and get all the information they want. At one time, I was in the team that was doing counter checking background information, and I called one person to know of a certain applicant. The person told me, “That child is not needy. The father has even bought a plot last month in a certain place for this amount.” In another situation, a person who was contacted said, “The kids is bright but not needy. The family has five cows they milk every day and their father is a mason.” The people who are called to provide applicant information knows local people in and out. They may be loyal clients, the bank agents, chief who may be asked to use nyumba kumi wazee and so forth. So it is good to be realistic and provide true information when making an application.
