By Akon Etumukwa
Steps are being taken by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to tighten the registration process for its 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, as it plans to allow only candidates with National Identitification Number, NIN.
JAMB’s Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin, told journalists in Keffi, Nasarawa State, that the move was aimed at purging the UTME registration process and eliminating identity theft, adding that the board was ready to go to any length to enforce biometric verification.
Fabian vowed that the board would no longer conduct UTME in school-based centres operated by private individuals as they have become enclaves for fraudsters to perpetrate malpractice, except such centres are owned and operated by the schools hosting them.
“Each time we have a case of examination malpractice, we write to the Attorney General to give us a fiat to prosecute the case ourselves; subsequently, you must have a National Identification Number, NIN, to register for JAMB examination to eliminate the issue of identity theft,” he said.
Recall that despite measures adopted by JAMB to curb all forms of infractions, the 2019 UTME was marred by malpractices as examination syndicates infiltrated centres across the country, giving a free rein to fraud and criminalities with the intent of undoing the credibility of the process.
JAMB said in one instance, a particular candidate registered a record 222 times, while some registered 46 and others 56 times or more, forcing the exam body to delay the release of its results till after May 11, 2019.
Fabian disclosed that parents, especially mothers were constituting a major barrier to the credibility of the exercise as they were actively conniving with their children to pay fraudsters in order to acquire marks.
Speaking on the public outcry over the conduct of the 2019 UTME, he said the complaints received so far, were because the board was more disposed to disclose what is happening now than ever.
Meanwhile, JAMB’s Intelligence Committee has invalidated the results of four candidates who were found to have been involved in the manipulation of their 2019 UTME.
candidates whose results were invalidated include Adah Eche with Registration Number 97512230IB, Taiwo Abisola Omowumi with Registration Number 97049254GG, Vincent Onyinyechi Prisca with Registration Number 96531098BC and Sofodun Afolasade Zainab with Registration Number 96634599GA.
