Kenya Scholarship project: Program descriptions

Boarding School Program

Students who advance to boarding school in Kenya are among the highest scoring students (on the national KCPE exam- the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) in their region. Once they complete their testing, secondary schools extend offers of admission to select students, who then must provide the funds to attend. Naro Moru is a rural farming community, and, with school fees averaging $900 per year, the majority of families can never afford the tuition.  In Kenya, receiving the invitation to join a boarding school is a dream opportunity and an immense honor for both students and their families. For students from Naro Moru, especially, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to obtain a high quality education that will allow to them attend college and advance towards their personal and professional goals. 

The scholarships awarded by the Hansen Foundation for Education for Boarding School scholars will cover all educational expenses required for the student to attend all four years of secondary school. Expenses sponsored include administrative fees (tuition, admission, and examinations), and individual educational and living costs for the boarders (school supplies, books, required school uniforms, toiletries, personal supplies mandated by the school, and transportation to and from school). The students eligible to receive the scholarship for our Boarding School program must be students in the last year of primary school (Grade 8) who have been offered admission to provincial and national boarding schools. These students will be chosen based on merit. 

day school program

The Day School Program provides educational scholarships for secondary school students at Irigithathi Secondary School in Naro Moru, Kenya, who are both talented and highly motivated and who demonstrate a financial need in order to continue their education. 

The Day School scholarships awarded by the Hansen Foundation for Education will cover all educational expenses required for the student to attend all fours years of secondary school.  Expenses sponsored include fees for: tuition, admission, examinations, and supplies (books, required school uniform, items required by curriculum). 

The students eligible to receive the scholarship must be students in the last year of primary school (Grade 8) who desire to continue their secondary school education to further their educational and professional goals.  These students must be both highly motivated and hardworking and in addition achieve strong scores on national exams. 

The students who benefit from the Hansen Foundation's Day School scholarships will be chosen based on their demonstrated intellectual curiosity throughout primary school, their performance on the KCPE national examination (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education), their determined financial or familial need, and their performance on other primary school examinations.  Students that demonstrate a need of financial assistance will be considered and encouraged to apply. 

“Need” is based on a student’s financial ability to attend secondary school taking into account familial finances and parental support. The recipients of the scholarship will be chosen in mid-to-late December after the Kenyan Ministry of Education releases the results of the KCPE.  Though test scores are major factors in the selection process, the process is holistic in that the committee considers each student’s potential to grow and develop with the benefits of the scholarship and may award scholarships to lower-scoring students who, for familial or financial reasons, may have lacked the test scores in primary school but demonstrate notable motivation and potential.  The Kenya Scholarship Project will give these students the opportunity to further their leadership and personal goals through scholarship funding.  The school year in Kenya begins in January, and the scholarships will take effect at the start of the year.