Forty-eight needy students from Kisumu County have benefited from comprehensive secondary scholarship courtesy of Equity Bank's Wings to Fly 2015 scholarship programme.
The 48 are among the students who performed well in the 2014 KCPE exams with highest student scoring 414 marks.
Speaking during the county flag off ceremony at Jomo Kenyatta Sports ground, Kisumu East MP Shakeel Shabir urged Equity Group Foundation to consider students with lower marks to be sponsored to technical polytechnics within the counties.
"We must have a safety net. We must deal with students who get marks below 250 and put them in local polytechnics," Shakeel Shabir said.
He added that Kisumu East constituency spends Sh25 million on bursary allocations for the needy and vulnerable students.
Shabir urged the students to strive to excel as they do their KCSE examinations at the end of secondary school.
Equity Kisumu branch manager Tom Kuyoh said the scholars will receive mentorship and leadership development and career guidance to enable them achieve their full potential.
He added that the Wings to Fly programme provides school fees, uniform, transport and pocket money in a bid to create a conducive environment for the students' success.