A resident from Basabo area of Dhaka has been trying to correct her date of birth at her national identity card (NID) for two and a half years. But every time she applies for a correction—she is asked to do it again after some time.
"I have been going around for three years for the correction of my date of birth in this They are giving date after date but my date of birth has not been corrected yet,” Amina Akhter said while crying outside the Election Commission (EC) building in Agargaon.
"Two and a half years ago, I was planning to go to Jordan. But due to a mistake at the NID I applied for a correction. But I still haven't been able to fix it. Now I am forced to work in a local garment factory with a salary of only Tk7,000. I have no parents, husband, or children. I will not get help from anyone. If I can correct my date of birth in the NID, I will get a chance to work in at least one good garment factory. When I came here today they told me to come again after the holiday,” she said.
Like Amena Akhter, the EC currently has 3,09,593 NIDs pending for correction.
According to EC sources, the most common NID corrections applied for are date of birth related corrections. The EC disposes of applications in six categories according to the type of complexity.
The highest number of applications are pending in category C with 1,40,316 applications, which are related to the date of birth correction.
Until January 1, before the start of the crash program, there were 3,78,836 applications and another 5,01,954 fresh applications have been submitted since. In the last four and a half months, 5, 71,197 applications have been disposed of.
The second most applications that the EC received are for correction to the names of parents in the NIDs.
Ruhul Miyaji, a resident of Kakrail, Dhaka, has not been able to resolve the problem even after visiting various government offices since 2021.
Ruhul Miyaji said: “At first there was a problem with my name. It did not match with my certificates. Then it turned out that my father's name was wrong as well. My father's name is Jabbar Ali Miyaji but his name came out as Md Ali Miyaji. Now the EC is saying that my father's birth registration will have to be completed online.”
Ruhul Miyaji then said his father was born in 1956 and they did not have documents required for an online registration.
Over a hundred people are seen at the EC building everyday waiting for their turn for NID corrections.
Babul Islam, an employee of the Health Department, said: "I am only four years younger than my father, according to the NID. I didn't understand it then. It didn't take that much to get into a government job back then. But now it does. Recently, a new system has been introduced, making NID mandatory for government officials and employees. Therefore, I came here to change my date of birth and name. Otherwise, I will have to face problems. All the documents have been submitted but the work has not been done yet. Let's see how long it takes.”
What the EC says:
ASM Humayun Kabir, director general of the National Identity Card Registration Division of the EC, told Dhaka Tribune: "The reason for the delay in NID correction is the indifference of the officials concerned. They can solve this problem in a very short time if they want, but instead of doing so, they harass the common people. Basically, most government officials are not dedicated to their work. Otherwise, millions of people would not have suffered. Moreover, the general people also do not behave tolerantly in some cases.”
Regarding the solution, he said: "The officials and employees concerned must perform their duties properly. They must be careful not to make mistakes in updating information and entries. At the same time, the general people must also be tolerant and aware. Because the NID correction process is complicated in some cases.”
ASM Humayun Kabir further said: "No one will be able to work outside the rules here if they want. Now if someone comes and says that he wants to reduce his age by 15 years, it is not possible in any way. Because it is illegal. These application are rejected then. Besides, if someone wants to change the name of his or parents, such as replacing the name of his adopted parents with his real parents, it can be done, for which he will have to get appropriate evidence and verify the information at the field level."
The NID correction process:
As per the notification issued by the Bangladesh Election Commission in 2023, the National Identity Card and Reserved Information Data (Correction, Verification and Supply) Regulations 2014 are as defined in Regulation 2 (5).
All applications for correction of National Identity Card and Reserved Information Data shall be received and processed online directly at the Upazila/Thana Election Office and in some cases, at the NID Wing of the Election Commission Secretariat. The submitted applications shall be disposed of in categories A-1 A, B-1 B, C, C-1, D.
A-1: Typographical errors in one's name and parents' names, addition or correction of blood group, TIN number, passport number, mobile, driving license number, NID, birth certificate number and correction or updating of any visible identification mark.
A: Addition or deletion of one's name, parents' original names while keeping it the same, change of date of birth (up to a maximum of 3 years), change of place of birth, educational qualification, occupation, religion, current address, permanent-temporary address, fingerprint, signature, year of death of father/husband/mother, gender, disability change.
B-1: Complete change of parents' names, change of year of birth up to a maximum of 5 years, change of marital status or name of husband or wife, change of religion of parents Name change.
B: Change of date of birth up to a maximum of seven years, update of educational qualification (from fifth to eighth class) and education certificate without or illiterate, correction of permanent address within the same district, photo update, biometric change.
C-1: Change of spelling of one's name which changes the original name, change of date of birth up to a maximum of 8 years.
C: Change of one's complete name, change of names of both parents, change of date of birth up to a maximum of 10 years, correction of permanent address within the same region.
D: Complete correction of one's parents' name, change of date of birth above 10 years, change of gender due to biological reasons, correction of permanent address within a different region.