All KCSE 2024 Candidates To Get Maisha Cards: Govt Announces

All students currently sitting for the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will receive Maisha Cards before those exams come to a close, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Citizen Services Julius Bitok has announced.

An official at the State Department confirmed this to Viral Tea, revealing that Bitok announced this while appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee on Tuesday, October 22.

According to Bitok, eligible candidates will be issued with National ID cards which will be crucial in their registration for tertiary education, access to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and scholarships.

“We have mobilised our registration officers across the country to issue Maisha Cards to eligible candidates to enable those who qualify to join local or international universities, apply for Higher Education Loans Board, scholarships, and other post-high school pursuits," Bitok stated.

The announcement comes as 965,501 registered candidates commenced their national examinations, with the government using everything in its might to speed up the issuance of the Maisha Cards amid a spate of challenges faced. 

Stat Attack

The 2024 KCSE candidates represent the largest group ever recorded, with 965,501 students, an increase from 903,138 in 2023. The exams, which began on October 22, 2024, started with practical and oral tests for elective subjects, ahead of the main written exams set to begin on November 4.

The KCSE exams will conclude on November 22, with the final paper being a Physics practical.

Arguably the biggest hurdle in the issuance is a court order which barred the Ministry of Interior and National Administration from processing the new ID cards. However, the High Court set aside the conservatory orders issued on Thursday, July 25.

Previously, students who had just cleared high school had to physically go to different locations to apply for national IDs. The tedious application process was worsened by the long wait to have the document processed, as it would take weeks before they were ready.

Further, individuals had to physically go to their respective stations to check in on whether their ID was ready. The result? Some individuals forget about their ID cards, a matter put into focus in August 2024 when the National Registration Bureau (NRB) announced that the department was struggling to deal with over 400,000 uncollected National Identity cards.

Another challenge the government has faced was hesitancy from Kenyans, who bombarded the government about the new-generation IDs. What sparked controversy was why the IDs were subject to expiry after 10 years.

This concern was debunked by Bitok, who clarified that the renewal was necessary for rectifications of one's personal information where necessary like biometrics and changes in one's facial structure.

Another key concern was whether it would be mandatory to register for the Maisha Namba Card, but Bitok debunked this too by revoking the mandatory mass registration for the digital identity cards. Instead, the PS revealed that the registration would be voluntary as the government planned to rely on the new digital features of the IDs to bolster uptake.