The government has outlined that under the Maisha ecosystem, all newborns will be issued a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI), which they will use for a lifetime, and upon death, the number will be transformed into the Death Certificate number.
Speaking during the unveiling of the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), which is an overhaul of the National Education Management System (NEMIS), Immigration and Citizen Services PS Dr Belio Kipsang explained that students will use the UPI numbers for KEMIS, and then the same number be used as the Death Certificate number.
"Under the Maisha ecosystem, we will provide a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to every newborn, which will also be used by KEMIS. In the event of death, the UPI will be the death certificate number. This will help us with accurate data on inevitable transitions," Kipsang explained.
This system introduces a major shift in the issuance of death certificate numbers.
Previously, death certificate numbers were generated at the time of registration by the Civil Registration Services.
Families had to apply for a certificate after obtaining a burial permit, and each document was issued with a unique number based on an internal system managed by government registries.
However, with the UPI, the system has changed, and one will use the same number from birth to death.
It is important to note that these changes only apply to newborns who received UPIs from October 2023, when the system was officially launched.
It will also apply to all students under KEMIS, who will be issued UPI numbers. Kenyans without UPIs will continue with the old system until it is eventually phased out.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Education unveiled a 15-member multi-agency team to steer the rollout of the new national student database, KEMIS.
KEMIS will be consolidating existing registers for all students, ranging from foundation learning to university level to a single database in a move the government terms as essential to curb the numerous challenges in the education sector.
Basic Education PS Prof Julius Bitok said the piloting of KEMIS will be launched in July this year ahead of full transitioning in September.
