Government launches national ID registration for 18-year-old secondary school students
The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Service said this will help students avoid delays in accessing tertiary education, job opportunities, and financial support such as HELB loans after completing their studies.
The government has launched a mobile national ID registration drive for secondary school students aged 18 and above, running throughout the second school term from May to August 2025.
In a circular issued to all regional and county directors of education, the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, through the National Registration Bureau, said the exercise aims to register eligible students while still in school.
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This, the department noted, will help students avoid delays in accessing tertiary education, job opportunities, and financial support such as HELB loans after completing their studies.
“This initiative is designed to ensure that Kenyan students who have attained the age of 18 are registered for national identity cards while still in school, enabling them to access tertiary education placements, job opportunities and financial aid such as HELB loans without delay upon completion of secondary education,” the statement read.
The statement was issued by Julius Bitok, Principal Secretary for Basic Education.
The department has also instructed all county directors of education to inform school principals in their regions to work closely with county and deputy county registration officers to ensure the success of the exercise.
The circular noted that school principals or their deputies will act as identification agents for students, instead of national government administration officers.
“You are, therefore, requested to urgently notify all secondary school principals within your jurisdiction to collaborate with county and deputy county registration officers for the successful implementation of the exercise in their schools,” the statement added.
“Please, also inform the principals that for the purposes of this exercise, they or their deputies will serve as identification agents for their students in place of National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs),” Bitok said.
The Maisha card, which bears the Maisha Namba, is essentially the third-generation ID, which has replaced the current second-generation ID.
It serves as a unique personal identification number assigned to Kenyan citizens upon registration, typically at birth. The number becomes their lifelong personal identity number from birth to death.
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