Kilifi County Launches Full Scholarship Programme for Grade 10 Students

By Feddy Madebe

KILIFI – Kilifi County has unveiled a comprehensive scholarship initiative targeting students transitioning to Grade 10 following the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment examinations.

Governor Gideon Mung’aro announced Tuesday that the programme, administered through the Kilifi Ward Scholarship Fund, will provide full financial support to qualifying students. Applications are now being accepted for review and consideration.

The governor emphasized that the scholarship specifically targets academically promising students facing financial hardship, including orphans, children from single-parent homes, learners with disabilities, and those from economically disadvantaged families.

“The Kilifi County Government, through the Kilifi Ward Scholarship Fund, invites applications from eligible students who sat the KJSEA 2025 examinations for consideration under the Full County Scholarship Programme,” the official statement read.

Eligibility requirements stipulate that applicants must have achieved a minimum score of 61 points in the KJSEA examinations. Qualified candidates have been directed to their respective ward offices to collect and submit completed application forms.

The initiative underscores the county administration’s dedication to advancing educational equity and opportunity. Reports indicate that approximately Ksh57 million has been allocated to support hundreds of beneficiaries under this programme.

The announcement follows recent action by Kilifi County Woman Representative Getrude Mbeyu, who disbursed over Ksh8.4 million through the National Government Affirmative Action Fund to assist more than 900 vulnerable students as schools reopened.

Kilifi now joins a growing number of counties implementing scholarship programmes for disadvantaged learners. On January 6, Murang’a County Governor Irungu Kangata announced a Ksh230 million bursary allocation designed to assist over 50,000 high-performing but economically vulnerable students. Kakamega County has similarly authorized Ksh150 million in secondary school bursary funding beginning January 2026.

County scholarship programmes typically prioritize orphans, children of parents with disabilities, and learners from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds.

While the national government has released capitation funds ahead of the Grade 10 transition, scholarship programmes remain crucial as the Treasury has reduced per-student government capitation amounts. These full scholarship initiatives are expected to significantly alleviate the financial burden on parents supporting children through senior secondary education.

The Kilifi scholarship represents a substantial investment in the county’s youth, aiming to ensure that financial constraints do not prevent talented students from accessing quality education at the secondary level.