A student (over 18) displays his voter’s card after registering at his school.
Form Four students will be issued with Identity Cards (IDs) and registered as voters before leaving school if Parliament approves a draft Bill into law.
The Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC) has approved the publication of the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to ensure mandatory registration of students who turn 18 while still in school.
The committee chaired by Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi has proposed further amendments to synchronise the issuance of IDs and registration of students as voters before exiting high school.
National Assembly Chairperson on Budget Committee Samuel Atandi.
“To cure low registration of voters, why don’t you amend the Bill further to synchronise issuance of IDs to students and registration as voters?” said Ms Florence Jematiah, a member of the committee.
“This will help the country, and especially the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), to cut costs of voter registration.”
The Bill, sponsored by Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia, seeks to amend the Registration of Persons Act, CAP 107 by introducing new requirements; specifically the registration of students who turn 18 years while still in school.
School required to register
A student (over 18) displays his voter’s card after registering at his school.
If enacted into law, schools will be required to register any learner who attains the age of 18 within 30 days of their birthday.
Ms Muhia said the Registration of Persons Act, Cap 107 requires every individual to appear before a registration officer within 90 days of turning 18 years.
She said the Act further stipulates that any person who fails to apply to be registered shall be guilty of an offence.
“Currently, the National Registration Bureau usually conducts registration of students in high school in an exercise conducted in conjunction with the school management,” Ms Muhia said.
“Ensuring that secondary students are registered for national ID cards offers several benefits, both for the students and the nation. It empowers students with legal recognition and access to various government services including application for scholarships, and participation in national processes such as voter registration.”
While supporting the Bill, Mr Atandi asked Ms Muhia to propose further changes to take care of the concerns raised by Ms Chematia before the Bill is published.
“Ours as a committee was to check whether it was a money Bill and it has passed that criteria. The Bill will now undergo the normal Parliamentary processes as others when being considered by the House,” Mr Atandi said.
Financial cost of implementing proposed law
An analysis of the Bill by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) shows that it will cost taxpayers Sh451.5 million in the first year of implementation, Sh474.1 million in the second year and Sh497.9 million in the third year.
The committee heard that the County Registration Bureaus only receive Sh100,000 per quarter to facilitate registration exercises.
“It is observed that currently the County Registration officers do extend such services of registering students in schools though under strained financial resources due to limited funding,” Ms Wanjiku said.
“I am not opposed to the proposal that we synchronise the issuance of IDs and voter registration. I will consider further amendments.”
The PBO costs were based on assumptions that the NRB shall provide facilitation for their staff to visit each school on a monthly basis for the purpose of registering the pupils who have attained an age of eighteen years.
There are 10,752 secondary schools in Kenya, with the Bureau required to deploy two officers to each school monthly to enable the registration of the pupils.
To this end, each member of staff will be facilitated with Sh3,000 for the one-day exercise to cater for lunch, transport and any other subsistence costs. Further, Student registration will take place in the seven months’ school calendar.
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