Bursary and Scholarship Scams in Kenya: Warning Signs Every Parent Should Know

Last reviewed: 25 October 2026

Every December, when KJSEA results come out and parents start looking for help with Grade 10 fees, fake scholarship adverts start circulating on WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok. Some ask for a “registration fee”, others harvest ID numbers and phone numbers, and a few simply sell free forms. The real programmes are clear on this point: their applications are free. This guide explains the warning signs and how to check any offer in two minutes.

What the real programmes say

• The Ministry of Education’s Elimu Scholarship 2026 form states that it is given free of charge, and that canvassing leads to automatic disqualification (JKF Elimu form).
• KCB Foundation’s 2026 form could be downloaded from its website or collected at any KCB branch, and applicants brought it to a county interview in person (KCB Foundation).
• Equity Group Foundation describes Wings to Fly applications through Equity branches, agents and its own website (Equity Group Foundation). As of October 2026 we have not found an official Wings to Fly call for KJSEA learners, so treat any “Wings to Fly 2027 form” circulating online with suspicion until it appears on that site.
• NG-CDF bursary forms are free at constituency offices and on ngcdf.go.ke/downloads.

Seven warning signs

1. A fee of any kind: “registration”, “processing”, “facilitation” or “form” fees paid by M-Pesa to a personal number.
2. A guarantee. Real programmes shortlist and interview. Nobody genuine promises a place.
3. Urgency and secrecy: “only 10 slots left”, “don’t share this link”.
4. A look-alike website or a Google Form instead of the provider’s own domain, for example a blog or a .com address for a programme that lives on a .go.ke or .co.ke site.
5. Contact only by WhatsApp, with no office, no phone line you can verify and no official email.
6. Requests for PINs, M-Pesa codes or passwords. No bursary needs these.
7. Dates that don’t match the real calendar, such as a “senior school scholarship” opening in July when the real programmes open after KJSEA results in December.

How to check any offer

1. Find the programme’s official website yourself, by searching its name, not by clicking the link you were sent.
2. Look for the same call, with the same dates, on that official site.
3. Call the official line. For example, the Elimu Scholarship lists the JKF toll-free number 0800 724 695 in the Ministry announcement.
4. Ask your child’s school, your Sub-County Education Office or your NG-CDF office whether they know of the call.

Our bursaries and scholarships board does this checking for the main programmes: every notice links to the provider’s own page or form, with the date we last checked it.

Data scams

Some fake adverts do not ask for money at first. They collect names, ID numbers, NEMIS numbers and phone numbers, which are later used for loan fraud or SIM swap attempts. Share your child’s details only on the provider’s official form or at the official office. Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 gives you the right to ask anyone holding your data what they hold and why.

If you have already paid

• Call Safaricom customer care (100) at once about the transaction, forward the scam message to 333, and keep the M-Pesa confirmation message.
• Report the case at your nearest police station and get an OB number.
• Warn your school’s parents’ WhatsApp group so others do not fall for the same advert.

When you are ready to apply for real support, start with our documents checklist and the Grade 10 scholarship calendar.