The Kenyan government has officially launched the issuance of Maisha cards, also known as national ID cards, to Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates. The exercise, which began on Thursday, aims to ensure that over 900,000 students sitting for their final exams this year receive their IDs, a crucial step for their smooth transition to tertiary education and other key government services.
The initiative was launched by Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok at Ngomeni Secondary School in Kilifi County. Bitok emphasized that the issuance of Maisha cards to the students is intended to address the ongoing challenges many candidates face due to the lack of IDs when applying for university or college admissions. He noted that in the past, students have faced frustrations during the admission process as the ID is a mandatory requirement for university and college placement, as well as for accessing student loans and other educational opportunities.
“We have had unfortunate situations where students joining universities and colleges are frustrated by the lack of IDs, which are a requirement for admissions and other processes. We want to end this by ensuring that those who are eligible exit high school with IDs,” said Bitok.
This move is expected to bring relief to students and their families by ensuring that eligible candidates have their IDs in hand when they finish their KCSE exams, thus avoiding delays or complications when applying for university placement or loans. The government aims to streamline the process by using existing school records to identify eligible students and issue IDs efficiently.
The issuance of Maisha cards will be handled in partnership with the Ministry of Education, making use of data collected from schools to confirm the identity of students. With the live biometric capture system, candidates can expect a fast-tracked delivery of their IDs, with processing times reduced to as little as seven days. This efficient system is designed to ensure that the cards are issued quickly and with maximum accuracy, reducing delays in the transition from high school to higher education.
The launch of the initiative follows concerns raised by students, parents, and educational stakeholders about the delays and frustrations many students face due to the absence of IDs. The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) had also raised concerns about the lack of IDs among some applicants, which often delays the placement and disbursement of loans.
In response to these concerns, the Education Committee of the National Assembly had summoned Principal Secretary Bitok last month, urging him to find a permanent solution to the issue. The government’s response, in the form of the Maisha card issuance, is seen as a long-awaited solution that will help streamline the process for students and minimize bottlenecks in higher education admission and financing.
Furthermore, Bitok took the opportunity to address another critical issue uncollected IDs. He called on Kenyans to collect the over 400,000 IDs currently lying uncollected in Huduma Centres and National Registration Bureau offices across the country. He emphasized that these IDs are important documents for citizens, and retrieving them will help improve overall service delivery and reduce congestion at registration offices.
In addition to the Maisha card initiative, Bitok also inaugurated a new birth and death certificates office in Magarini Constituency. The new office, located in Kongoni, is designed to ease the pressure on the Civil Registration Services office in Malindi, which currently serves a large population in the expansive Kilifi County. The county, which spans over 12,000 square kilometers and is home to nearly two million residents, has only a few Civil Registration Services offices, with others located in Kilifi town and Kaloleni. The opening of the new office is expected to significantly improve access to crucial civil registration documents for residents of Magarini.
The launch of the Maisha card issuance for KCSE candidates, alongside the new civil registration office in Magarini, represents a significant step toward enhancing the efficiency of government services and ensuring that young Kenyans are better prepared for their futures. The government’s efforts to streamline the issuance of IDs and other vital documents are aimed at ensuring that students and citizens alike have access to the necessary tools to succeed in their academic and professional lives.
This initiative, which was attended by senior registration officials, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, and other local leaders, is a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to improving the civil registration process and supporting students in their educational journey.
