The National Identity Registration Authority (NIRA) has asked parents to give their children photocopies of their national IDs as they return to school, in order to ease the process of acquiring National Identity cards.
NIRA has stated that they will reach every primary and secondary student who hasn’t already been registered.
During a press briefing, Osborne Mushabe revealed that all children aged 16 and above will be registered for national identity numbers and cards during the upcoming school term, while those below 16 will be issued national identification numbers (NIN).
“We would like to inform the public especially parents and guardians that we should be carrying out a mass exercise in schools this term in a bid to have students registered countrywide,” he added.
The spokesperson called upon parents to give their children photocopies of their national IDs as they return to school, to ease the process of obtaining a National Identity Card.
According to the authorities, this exercise will target all primary and secondary school-aged children who have never registered for national identity cards.
Following the expiration of the majority of national IDs, NIRA plans to implement a mass national identity card renewal campaign as well.
NIRA has also asked parents to explain the importance of national ID registration and how a national ID card opens doors to various services like accessing healthcare, banking, voting, and even registering for exams.
It also enhances security and prevents identity theft and provides a verifiable form of identification for everyday needs.