Lagos to issue unique identity numbers to public, private school students

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Lagos State Government has commenced plans to issue unique identification numbers to all students in public and private schools across the state as part of efforts to strengthen educational planning, improve student data management and expand residents’ registration.

The initiative will be implemented through a partnership between the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) and the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA).

The programme was unveiled during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting held at the OEQA office in Alausa, Ikeja, with education officials, school associations and representatives of both agencies in attendance according to statement made available to journalists on Sunday.

Speaking at the meeting, the General Manager of LASRRA, Mrs. Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, said the exercise would ensure that every student is assigned a unique identification number while being registered as a resident of Lagos State.

She explained that students in public schools are already required to possess LASRRA numbers for enrolment, adding that the new initiative would strengthen the existing process through improved technology and collaboration with education districts.

“For public schools, having a LASRRA number is actually a requirement to be enrolled in Lagos State government schools. What we are doing now is simply improving the process by using technology and working closely with the various districts to collect and consolidate those numbers,” she said.

Adebiyi-Abiola noted that LASRRA would work with OEQA and private school administrators to conduct on-site registration for students who are yet to obtain LASRRA numbers.

She said the registration process would take less than five minutes per child and expressed confidence that the exercise would be completed within a few months after field operations commence.

The LASRRA boss also disclosed that students and teachers in both public and private schools would be issued standardised identity cards under the initiative. She added that discussions were ongoing with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to simplify access to National Identification Numbers (NIN) for students and school communities.

She urged schools to carry out pre-registration of students before LASRRA officials visit for biometric capture and verification to ensure a faster and more seamless exercise.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Office of Education Quality Assurance, Dr. Sulaimon Ogunmuyiwa, said awareness campaigns, including radio and television jingles, would be launched to sensitise schools, parents and students ahead of the rollout.

He described the partnership as part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to inter-agency collaboration and efficient service delivery.

According to Ogunmuyiwa, the initiative will provide government with reliable data for educational planning, enable effective monitoring of students’ academic progress and support evidence-based policy formulation.

“Our goal is to make sure we give a unique number to every student in Lagos while also registering them as residents of the state. Even after leaving school, they will already be captured as Lagos residents, while during their academic journey, the unique identification number will help us track performance and ensure they receive the support required to succeed in life,” he said.

The exercise will cover all public and private schools across Lagos State and is expected to enhance identity registration, improve education data management and strengthen planning and service delivery within the state’s education sector.