Govt to give students new standardised IDs

Jul 16, 2014

THE ministry of education is searching for a company to produce new standardised identity cards (IDs) for students in primary, secondary and technical schools across the country

By Francis Kagolo

THE ministry of education is searching for a company to produce new standardised identity cards (IDs) for students in primary, secondary and technical schools across the country.

The new IDs, which the ministry promised would come at “a uniform and fair cost to the parents/students”, are for students below the age of 16 to be used as travel documents within East Africa.

The news is contained in the ministry’s circular to primary and secondary school head teachers and principals of business, technical and vocational (BTVET) institutions. 

It follows a decision by the heads of state of the East African Community (EAC) to ease movement of goods and persons within the region from using passports as travel documents to national IDs. 

The heads of Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya also allowed the use of voter or students IDs as travel documents in case one has not yet got the national ID. The three presidents launched the new system in January when Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame used their IDs to enter Uganda.

At the 4th summit meeting, the presidents directed that member countries issue standardised students’ identity cards to be used as travel documents by July 1, 2014.

The ministry of internal affairs is in the process of issuing National Identity Cards to all citizens above the age of 16 years. “This means that students below the age of 16 years should be issued with identity cards that can be used as travel documents,” Dr. Rose Nassali Lukwago, the ministry of education permanent secretary, said in the circular.

She asked head teachers and principals to “prepare for the implementation of the directive by collecting all the relevant student information and thereafter will proceed to issue the new IDs to students as and when one needs it or intends to travel within the member states.” 

There are over 10 million students in BTVET, primary and secondary schools, according to the 2009 education statistical abstract by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. It is believed about 95% of these are below 16 years and are eligible for the new standardised student IDs. 

Currently schools charge different amount of fees for students IDs but the average is about sh5,000 per ID. 

Patrick Muinda, the ministry’s spokesperson, was unable to provide further details about the project yesterday but said the charges for the new IDs would be “affordable”. 

Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya adopted the use of IDs as travel documents across their borders at an experts meeting in Kigali on December 17, 2013. 

Under the arrangement, a traveller has to show the national ID, voters or student IDs at the borders and receive a coupon from the immigration officer of the entry country, which allows him to proceed with her/his travel. An entry stamp of six months is endorsed on the coupon.

In case the coupon is lost while in the country, the traveller is required to present him/herself to the nearest immigration office for issuance of another coupon.

“A traveller who uses a partner state as transit, shall present a national ID, voter’s or student card at the common border of partner states and use a standard travel document to exit a partner state for his or her destination, on condition of presenting a coupon from the entry point,” reads the report by the experts’ meeting held in Rwanda last year.

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