The Ministry of Education has cleared NRB officers to register secondary school students aged 18 for national IDs in schools nationwide, running August 31–October 16, 2026, ahead of the 2027 General Election.
For thousands of Form Four students across Kenya, getting a national identity card will no longer mean a trip to a Huduma Centre or a registration office. The Ministry of Education has given the green light for National Registration Bureau (NRB) officers to enter secondary schools countrywide and register students who have turned 18, bringing the process directly to the classroom.
The approval came from Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa in a notice dated August 31, 2026. "This is to confirm that this office has considered and granted approval to the request by the National Registration Bureau for access to Secondary Schools for issuance of National Identity Cards to students across the country," Ololtuaa said in the communication.
Timing was clearly on the Ministry's mind. With Third Term national examinations looming, the PS was explicit that the exercise had to be squeezed into a defined window: August 31 to October 16, 2026. "However, in view of the 3rd term examinations, the exercise should be undertaken between 31st August, 2026 and 16th October, 2026," he said.
School administrators have been directed to give registration officers access to their institutions during this period, while making sure the exercise doesn't eat into teaching time or exam preparation. To smooth the rollout, Ololtuaa also sent a parallel communication to Regional Directors of Education (RDEs), instructing them to help NRB officers reach schools in their regions without bureaucratic snags.
The logic behind the school-based model is straightforward: convenience. Many students, particularly those in schools far from registration centres, would otherwise have to leave campus and travel to get registered — a disruption schools and parents alike would rather avoid, especially so close to KCSE. By deploying officers directly to school compounds, the government hopes to cut down on delays and make the process accessible to a much wider pool of eligible learners.
This isn't an entirely new approach. Earlier this year, a similar school-based registration drive ran during the second term, and in July the NRB launched another mobile registration push in secondary schools nationwide, with school principals asked to facilitate transport for visiting officers. The August–October exercise appears to be a continuation and expansion of that same strategy, timed specifically around this year's exam calendar.
The 2027 Election Angle
The drive lands squarely in the middle of preparations for the 2027 General Election. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is targeting a significant jump in the voter roll — from the 22.1 million Kenyans registered in 2022 to an anticipated 28.5 million in 2027. A national ID is the first prerequisite for that expansion, since it's a mandatory requirement before anyone can register as a voter.
It's worth being clear on one point many students and parents may not realise: getting an ID card through this school exercise does not automatically enrol anyone as a voter. Voter registration remains a separate, deliberate step that eligible citizens must take with the IEBC. What this drive does is remove one of the biggest hurdles — document acquisition — well ahead of that later step.
With a large cohort of Form Four candidates turning 18 around exam time, the government's push to formalise their identity documents now, rather than after they leave school, could meaningfully shape how many young Kenyans are positioned to register as first-time voters when IEBC's voter registration exercise opens.