The Oyo State Government has announced that birth certificates and National Identification Numbers (NIN) are now compulsory requirements for admission into schools as part of efforts to strengthen digital identity management and improve education records across the state.

The Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Oyinloye Bamidele, disclosed this on Sunday in Ibadan while speaking on school enrolment and digital identity initiatives.

According to Bamidele, the policy is being implemented in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and aligns with the Federal Government’s drive to establish a comprehensive national digital identity system.

She explained that school enrolment records in Oyo State have been fully digitised and are now stored in a central database, replacing the traditional paper-based record system.

“We are in a digital age, so once a pupil or student is registered, it goes into our central database. We have all our records digitised,” she said.

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Bamidele identified the inability of some parents to obtain birth certificates for their children as one of the major challenges affecting the integration of birth registration, school enrolment and digital identity.

She noted that many students are unable to present birth certificates because their parents either failed to register their births or were unavailable during the admission process.

Despite making both birth certificates and NIN compulsory for admission, the permanent secretary explained that the ministry has introduced some flexibility regarding NIN registration. Students who are yet to obtain their NIN are allowed to complete the process before reaching terminal classes, where the identity number becomes mandatory for registration for national examinations.

To improve compliance, the ministry has partnered with NIMC to facilitate mass registration exercises in schools with large numbers of unregistered pupils and students.

According to Bamidele, NIMC officials visit designated schools with registration equipment after arrangements are made with school authorities, allowing eligible learners to enrol in batches.

She revealed that the policy has been in operation across Oyo State for the past two years, encouraging more parents to secure birth certificates and National Identification Numbers for their children.

On data protection, Bamidele assured parents and stakeholders that students’ personal information remains secure. She stated that the education database is not accessible to the general public and is only available to authorised education officials.

She added that researchers may access approved data strictly for specific purposes, while selected education statistics are published on the ministry’s official website.

“The data is secured and not accessible to everybody. The ministry provides privacy, security and responsible use of students’ personal data as Oyo State advances digitalisation of education records and services,” she said.

Bamidele reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to leveraging technology to improve education administration, enhance record management and ensure more efficient service delivery across schools in Oyo State.