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Plans are already underway to centralise organisations offering various scholarship programmes for needy students to ensure better coordination.

Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF) Managing Director, David Mwaniki (pictured) has said there is need to have a national data centre, which will also go a long way in identifying the needs of every scholar.

He said the students will also be supported even under the new school system, now that the last Form One class under the 8-4-4 system will transition to secondary school in January.

“What we are looking at is to ensure that we centralise many organisations that are already offering scholarships in one way or another so that we can determine and have a national data centre that will be able to know what each and every scholar needs and how we can be able to help them move from Form One to Four or even in the new system of schooling, at least they get to finish senior school,” said Mwaniki.

He said the Ministry of Education’s interest is to ensure equity and access to education and that no student is left behind.

“We want to ensure that we are able to have every student access basic education as we think about higher education…but every child must access basic education regardless of the background because all of us have a potential,” he added.

The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER), in its report said bursaries and scholarships complement Government capitation but Kenyans raised issues of uncoordinated systems.