Major changes to NID form: Higher professional degrees to be added

The Election Commission is set to introduce major changes to the National Identity Card registration process. Currently, the NID form only has limited categories for educational qualifications and professions. To meet the demands of the time and make citizen services more accurate, the commission plans to directly include various levels of madrasa education and professional degrees.

EC officials said on Monday, May 11, that previously, madrasa students did not have any specific column to mention their qualifications. Most would write 'general' or 'equivalent', leaving their actual educational identity unclear in the NID database .

Similarly, professionals such as doctors or engineers were often reduced to generic labels like 'government job' or 'private job' instead of their specific professions. The goal of this initiative is to enrich the NID database and make it more information-driven.

The Election Commission believes the NID card is no longer just a means of proving voting rights, but has become the primary basis for citizens to access various services. If specific madrasa degrees such as Dakhil, Alim, Fazil, Kamil and Dawrae Hadith, as well as advanced professional qualifications like BSc (Engineering), MBBS, MS/MD, MPhil and PhD are added, administrative and official processes will become easier and more effective .

EC officials said the changes are aimed at reflecting citizens' educational and professional identities more accurately. "A person spends years earning a degree, yet our database did not reflect it specifically. Now we plan to add higher education degrees in line with professional identity," said Md Saiful Islam, director (Operations) of the NID wing .

The new information will be stored as additional data under the profession section. It will not be printed on the physical NID card .

The proposal has already been submitted to the commission. Once approved, necessary steps will be taken to update the registration form design and database software. This will enable a large segment of the population to have their correct identities reflected and ensure transparency in various government and private information verification processes .

An EC official said citizens often face complications abroad when visa applications mention specific qualifications while the NID database only reflects general education levels. "Mentioning the exact degree in the NID database will make things easier. That is why the EC has taken this decision," the official said.