This is the first time in years that the ministry has rolled out an aggressive campaign for ID registration among school-going children.
In a directive issued by the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Julius Bitok, all Regional and County Directors of Education have been instructed to notify secondary school principals to facilitate the exercise.
The exercise will be done during the ongoing second school term, May–August 2025, with the government expected to register thousands of young adults across the country.
The initiative, spearheaded by the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services through the National Registration Bureau, aims to ensure eligible students receive their National Identity Cards before completing secondary education.
“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,” the circular dated May 29 reads.
To streamline the process, school principals or their deputies will serve as identification agents for their students in place of National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs).
NGAO officers are usually in charge of the verification and identification of targeted Kenyans seeking ID registration.
Education officials at the regional and county levels have been directed to coordinate closely with County and Deputy County Registration Officers to ensure the successful implementation of the registration exercise across all secondary schools.
The government says it hopes this drive will reduce post-secondary delays caused by a lack of national identification documents, particularly for students seeking to transition quickly into higher education or the job market.
However, the move comes at a time when politicians are courting
the youth ahead of the 2027 polls, with the young adults expected to register
as voters after acquiring national IDs.
