JAMB Begins Nationwide Investigation of UTME Results from 2009 – 2019 over ‘Exam Malpractices’

More breaking JAMB news keeps coming up and it seems like the 2019 UTME candidates are not the only group to be affected. Latest JAMB news reaching us today is that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially launched a probe into the credentials of applicants dating back to ten years ago (2009).

Breaking News: We’ll Cancel Results of Candidates Who Cheats in JAMB 2019

For those who are not aware of the implication of this investigation, it implies that all candidates who cheated the system to pass the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to get into school and may have even graduated and participated in the National Youth Service Corps will be arrested and their certificates will be automatically withdrawn and will be invalid.

Speaking on this issue, the Head of Media and Information of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin disclosed this breaking news in an interview with Punch Nigeria, saying that the probe had already commenced and it would be completed in record time as JAMB had acquired software which would be able to identify fake biometric data of all those who paid someone else to write their examination.

Speaking in a separate interview on 95.1 Nigeria Info FM FCT Abuja, the JAMB spokesman shed more light on this new investigation carried out by JAMB.

He said and I quote below;

“We want to do what we call biometric verification which will start 10 years back. Even if anyone who partakes in JAMB Exam malpractice in 2009, is now working and we discovered that someone wrote exams for you, we will publish your name and the law agencies will do the needful by arresting you and withdrawing your certificate.

The UTME board have all the needed biometric data dating 10 years ago. We will compare the photos with thumbprints and names. We discovered that some candidate could have taken exams with 30 different names but with one face and thumbprint.”

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Explaining how impersonation takes place in the examination hall, Benjamin shares more light on Impersonation. This is how they operate:

“My name is Dr. Fabian Benjamin but I will register as Abdullahi Musa and write the UTME exercise for Abdullahi Musa, Same time, I will use my picture and my biometric data; the only difference is that the name will be different. I will register as John David, as Austin Steven. I will register in the name of anyone that pays me, sit down and write the exams for that person but I will use the same picture, which is my face. What this means is that when I get into the hall, the biometric data verification will allow me to enter but I will do the exam for someone else.

“The person who paid such people for impersonation and their UTME were taken on their behalf would get into university and of course most universities don’t use the pictures of JAMB during admissions. This will be stopping very soon because we want to enforce a new law where all Nigerian institutions must use the picture of each candidate through their UTME Registration. We will give the institutions the photo and it must match. Only pictures from JAMB Database WILL be accepted by all NUC Approved academic institutions lawfully operating in Nigeria.”

The JAMB Head of Media and Information said that this new law is important in our today’s society, so it will expose all candidates who partake in Examination Malpractice and will be serving as a deterrent to others who are planning to eager in it.

Dr. Fabian Benjamin further disclosed that the photos of those found culpable would be published for all to see even if they were now working class persons and are no longer impersonating candidates for JAMB examination.

Dr. Fabian Benjamin further disclosed that “If anyone who paid an impersonator has graduated from university and did not take UTME themselves, it means the foundation is faulty and the building cannot stand. We have already started the probe but we will go deeper after the examination.

Speaking on how long this investigation will last, the Spokesman said it won’t take too long before all culprits will be exposed by the software specially created for this purpose. We are using software which will just check the biometric data of candidates and if the biometric data of someone shows about six different names, then it will notify us. So, if one person’s photo has different names and the software spots it, and we confirm it, we will send the law enforcement after such person and bring them to face the full wrath of the law.”

Dr. Fabian said that so far, the UTME body had been able to arrest more than 100 persons nationwide for malpractices in the ongoing examinations. Benjamin said JAMB had written a letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation for advice on prosecution in matters like this.

“Speaking on this issue, the spokesman for JAMB said that even if those involved in this impersonation or paying others to write for them are not punished, the public will have to know that Mr. A who is a doctor became so after someone wrote an exam for him. That shame alone will serve as a deterrent to others. We must start from 10 years ago so that others will learn”.

What do you think of this? Is this worth the stress or should it be let go and JAMB should focus on eliminating exam malpractice and those found guilty should be used as deterrents to others planning to do so in JAMB 2020?