The Ministry of Education through the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (FKF) has announced the opening of applications for the 2026 Elimu Scholarship Programme, offering fully funded scholarships to Grade 10 students who recently completed the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
The programme targets needy and vulnerable learners across all 47 counties, including those in public junior schools and refugee learners living in camps.
The Ministry indicated that eligible applicants must have attained achievement levels ranging from Meeting Expectation to Exceeding Expectation in the 2025 KJSEA. This requirement applies to both boys and girls from public junior schools.
Learners with special needs and disabilities will be considered regardless of their achievement level as part of the programme’s affirmative action measures.
Refugee learners living in Kakuma, Kalobeyei, and Dadaab camps are also eligible, provided they attend UNHCR-supported schools or nearby public junior schools. For refugee applicants, boys must have met the expected achievement levels, while girls qualify from the Approaching Expectation level and above. Only candidates who sat the 2025 KJSEA in public junior schools and learners from the 42 camp-based junior schools or nearby public schools around the camps will be considered.
Applicants must come from poor or vulnerable backgrounds. Priority will go to orphans, learners from informal settlements, children whose parents or guardians have disabilities, learners from families affected by chronic illnesses, those facing extreme poverty, and children who have endured neglect or abuse. Learners with special needs and disabilities also qualify.
Application forms are available at Sub-County Education offices across the country. Refugee learners can obtain forms from the Camp Manager’s office or UNHCR offices in Kakuma and Dadaab.
Forms may also be downloaded from the Ministry of Education website, the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation website, or completed online through the JKF scholarship portal.
All submissions, including supporting documents, must be made online or at the nearest Sub-County Education office by December 23, 2025, at 5:00 pm. Refugee applicants may submit their forms to the Sub-County Director of Education or the Camp Manager in the respective camps.
Shortlisted candidates will later attend interviews conducted by Community Selection Advisory Committees, accompanied by their parents or guardians. Only applicants who meet the eligibility criteria will move to the final selection stage.
The scholarship will cover school fees, transport, a school kit, and pocket money for the three years of senior school. Beneficiaries will also receive mentorship and psychosocial support.
The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Education with support from the Equity Group Foundation and the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, with emphasis on vulnerable communities, disadvantaged sub-counties, and urban areas with informal settlements.
The Elimu Scholarship Programme remains one of the government’s key interventions aimed at supporting academically promising learners who lack the financial means to continue with secondary education.
By
TV47 Kenya
