Michael Muganga, the National Identification Registration Authority- NIRA deputy Public Relations Officer says that all students will be required to carry a copy of their parents' National Identification Number (NIN) for them to be registered.
He was speaking at the launch of mass registration of children aged between 5 and 16 for the national identity card project Eastern Uganda at Sunset hotel in Jinja on Wednesday.
Muganga adds that the unregistered pupils will be affected because the government will not plan for their needs in schools including examinations. He adds that the registration exercise that kicks off on May 29 and ends on August 25 is aimed at getting the exact number of children in schools so that the government plans better.
The State Minister for Primary Education, Rosemary Seninde said that the government spends over 20 billion shillings on ghost pupils.
Seninde says that the identity number that will be given to each student will be captured on the report cards such that even when a pupil changes the school, the education ministry can follow up by tracing the identity number. She notes that with such a policy, the government will be able to reduce on the school dropouts since there is easy follow up.
The pupils will however not be given National Identity cards. Instead, they will be given a national identification number which will be used for the issuance of a National ID, once they turn 16. During the initial registration in 2014, the authority captured data for citizens aged 16 and above.
-URN