The government kicked off the issuance of national ID cards to Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education candidates on Thursday.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok officially launched the exercise targeting over 900,000 students at Ngomeni Secondary School in Kilifi County.
He said the issuance of Maisha cards to the candidates who are writing their final examinations will cure frustrations associated with admissions to tertiary institutions.
“We have had unfortunate situations where students joining universities and colleges are frustrated by lack of IDs which are a requirement for admissions and other processes. We want to end this by ensuring those who are eligible exit high school with IDs,” he said.
Bitok said the joint exercise with the Ministry of Education is also intended to take advantage of existing school records to ensure only eligible citizens obtain Kenyan IDs.
Applicants will also benefit from a fast-tracked process of seven-day delivery due to live capture of the relevant biometrics.
“We’re working closely with school heads, who already have the necessary student data. This allows us to make the live capture process seamless and efficient, ensuring that IDs are issued without delay and with maximum accuracy.”
The launch follows concerns raised over frustrations faced by students without IDs with the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
Last month, Members of Parliament through the Education Committee of the National Assembly summoned the PS and urged him to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Meanwhile, Bitok appealed to Kenyans to collect over 400,000 IDs that are currently lying in Huduma Centres and the National Registration Bureau countrywide.
The PS also presided over the opening of a birth and death certificates office in Magarini constituency.
The office located in Kongoni is intended to ease the pressure on the Civil Registration Services office in Malindi town and make it easier for residents to obtain the documents.
Besides Malindi, the county that is over 12,000 sq km with nearly two million residents has only two other CRS offices in Kilifi town and Kaloleni.
The two functions were attended by senior registration officials, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, and other local leaders.
The MP, who is also the deputy majority leader in the National Assembly, said giving IDs to students will ease the burden for many students.
“We are thrilled with this initiative. For the first time, students will graduate with their Maisha ID, giving them the crucial identification documents they need to start their journey into adulthood and access essential services from day one.”
