In a bid to tackle impersonation in UTME, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it would revalidate the biometrics of candidates who have participated in its examination in the last 10 years.
This was expressed by the board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday in Lagos.
In his statement, he stated that the revalidation was necessary to detect impersonation.
Benjamin said it had become a norm, each year, for the board to be inundated with application for correction of data after its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He said that the board had also vowed to reveal the names of impostors in order to serve as deterrent to others, as well as stem the antics of ‘Professional Examination takers’.
“This step is taken as a result of the huge number of applications recorded by the board and is aimed at unveiling fraudulent acts that had aided impersonation in the first instance.
“The board, in its attempt to block all forms of examination malpractice, has discovered that one of the ways candidates employ is professional examination writers, who register using the candidate’s name and afterwards apply for correction of such details, along the lines listed above.
“To address this ugly trend, the board has resolved to revalidate the biometrics of candidates that had taken the board’s examination to fish out these impersonators and prosecute them along with their sponsors,” the statement read.
Benjamin said that the board had discovered series of cases of impersonation which some of the so-called elite schools were involved.
He explained that in their (elite schools) bid to make money, they subject the candidates to group registration, after collecting huge sums of money from unsuspecting parents.
“Such group registration end up distorting candidates’ data.
“The public, therefore, should be mindful of some of these so-called elite schools, which exploit parents by collecting huge sums of money to register students in group, more often at unauthorised centres.
“As such, all candidates, desiring to take the board’s examination are required to register individually and not in group.
Benjamin said that various investigations conducted by the board revealed that attempts were made to register candidates, using multiple PIN to conceal impersonation.
According to the statement, other cases emanated from candidates who are already admitted to various programmes in tertiary schools and are also seeking such corrections to normalise infractions that have been perpetrated to gain such admission.
