The government will register students aged 18 and above for national identity cards from schools as part of a new drive to ensure more young Kenyans get IDs ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa said the National Registration Bureau (NRB) has been allowed to send officers to secondary schools across the country to register eligible students and process their ID applications.
The exercise started on August 31 and will run until October 16, 2026.
In a notice dated August 31, Ololtuaa said his office had approved a request by the NRB to access secondary schools for the exercise.
The registration has been planned for the third term, with the ministry saying the dates were chosen to avoid interfering with national examinations.
Ololtuaa said schools should allow registration officers to access students while making sure that lessons and preparations for examinations continue normally.
Regional Directors of Education have also been asked to help the officers access schools in their areas.
The school-based process implies that those students who have attained 18 years of age will not be required to vacate school and go to the registration centers to obtain their IDs.
This process is also expected to aid students in schools located far away from the registration offices of the government.
The process is taking place as the nation prepares for the 2027 General Elections, where the number of registered voters will increase.
As at the 2022 elections, there were 22.1 million registered voters in Kenya, but the figure will increase to about 28.5 million in 2027.
However, having the national ID does not necessarily mean that an individual has been registered as a voter.
One needs to register separately with the IEBC in order to qualify as a registered voter.
