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This year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) candidates will be issued with the new Maisha Card before the completion of their exams.
This announcement was made by Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok, who confirmed that the cards would be issued to those who have attained the age of 18 and above.
The initiative aims to facilitate access to higher education institutions and other post-secondary opportunities for the candidates.
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Improving access to higher education
Speaking before the National Assembly’s Education, Research and Technology Committee, Bitok emphasised that the joint effort by the ministries of Interior and Education will ensure that students who qualify for universities and colleges are not disadvantaged by a lack of identification documents.
This initiative is expected to benefit over 965,000 KSCE candidates who are eligible for ID cards.
“We have mobilised our registration officers across the country to issue Maisha Cards to eligible candidates. This will enable those who qualify to apply for university admission, Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loans, scholarships, and other post-secondary pursuits,” PS Bitok explained.
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Maisha card registration and distribution process
The PS further revealed that the registration process for the Maisha Cards has been simplified and digitised.
A paperless registration system is currently being piloted at Huduma Centres and National Registration Bureau (NRB) offices in county headquarters. This new system ensures that Maisha Cards are processed and issued within 10 days.
“We’ve gone paperless. Applicants can now apply for their ID on the eCitizen portal and then visit any Huduma Centre or NRB county office for biometric capture, which is transmitted in real-time to the NRB headquarters in Nairobi,” Bitok said.
PS Bito addresses delays in ID issuance
The Tinderet MP raised concerns over the delays experienced earlier this year, where many students struggled to obtain their ID cards in time to access HELB loans and university admission.
Without these IDs, students found it difficult to access crucial services like loans and scholarships.
PS Bitok explained that these delays were due to court injunctions that had halted the government from issuing Maisha Cards, resulting in a backlog of over 600,000 unprinted cards.
He assured the committee that the government had successfully resolved the issue by obtaining a court order lifting the injunctions.
“We have invested in a new printer and implemented a 24-hour work schedule to clear the backlog,” he said.
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How to know ID status of your Maisha Card
The government has significantly increased its ID printing capacity. According to Bitok, the current printing capacity is 32,000 cards per day, while the number of daily applications stands at approximately 10,000.
So far, over 1.8 million Maisha Cards have been printed, and 1.29 million have already been collected by applicants.
To ensure that applicants are aware of the status of their IDs, Bitok stated that 569,000 Maisha Cards are still waiting to be collected.
Applicants have been informed via Short Message Services (SMS) that their cards are ready for collection.
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HELB portal reconfigured for Maisha Card compatibility
Responding to concerns from MPs regarding challenges faced by HELB applicants due to an extra digit on the Maisha Card, Bitok confirmed that the issue has been addressed.
The HELB portal has been reconfigured to ensure that the new Maisha Cards are fully compatible with the system, allowing students to access loans without any complications.